Merry Christmas from Kandahar

Merry Christmas from Kandahar !!
All is well here - we are safe, working hard and have many blessings to be thankful for - We are truly blessed.

I have been able to share this with friends at Christmas and it still has a powerful impact as it is a true story (which took place in Fitchburg, MA in 1951)

Read on and remember the power of "coming home" for those who have been away at this time of year....

The enclosed is my Christmas present to you & yours -

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all....


A HOMECOMING WITH HEART
Author: By Mike Barnicle, Globe Staff Date: 12/25/1997
Maybe Christmas Eve wasn't actually colder then, but it sure seems so; just like it seems you could always depend on snow dropping out of a lead sky the moment shops began to close and people headed home late on the one afternoon when excitement and anticipation arrived together, natural byproducts of the season. It was a period of far less affluence and cultural evil, a time when community meant more.

So again we spin the dial back to December 24, 1951. Harry Truman was in the White House. The Dow Jones closed at 228. ``Your Lucky Strike Hit Parade'' was the No. 1 show on a thing called television; an appliance few owned on the day Eddie Kelly stepped off the train at half past 11 in the morning.

Kelly was 22 and tired. He was of medium height but appeared smaller, hunched beneath the weight of a seabag he carried as he walked along Main Street, past people who thought they recognized him but were not quite sure because he was 40 pounds lighter and his eyes held dark secrets that had not been present prior to his departure for Korea in the summer of 1950.

By winter of that long-gone year, he was with "Chesty '' Puller's Marines at Chosin Reservoir, surrounded by thousands of Chinese who charged through snow in a murderous mass, blowing whistles and bugles. It cost 2,651 Marine casualties and took 14 days of combat with men using rifles, entrenching tools, and their hands rather than concede defeat or leave anyone behind as they walked, on foot, 40 miles to Hungnam and safety. As a result, Kelly was hospitalized from January until December; in Japan, then at Philadelphia Naval, where he recuperated until boarding one train for South Station and another for the place everybody wants to be on this night: Home.

Four blocks from the depot, the lunch crowd stood two deep in the Beacon Cafe as Eddie pushed through the door and dropped his seabag by a stool. The old barroom went chapel-quiet. Then, after five seconds of a complete and awed silence, the patrons burst into endless applause.

They bought him drinks and begged for stories, but he had no thirst and there was very little he wanted to repeat or even recall. He stood in the warmth of a familiar setting, waiting to meet his mother, who worked 7 to 3 in a paper mill and did not know her boy had returned for Christmas.

He was the older of two kids. His father died when Eddie was 11. His younger sister, Eileen, was born retarded, and to keep things going his mother had to institutionalize her only daughter in a state hospital that people called "The Nut House.''

When Eddie was in Korea, his mom sent him a picture of Eileen taken at the hospital. In the snapshot, she was smiling, waving and wearing a white Communion dress. Eddie taped the photograph inside the shell of his helmet. Now, as afternoon grew full of beers and cheers, Eddie Kelly brooded about the little girl who had been left behind. So he asked Roy Staples if he could borrow his car to visit Eileen. Staples insisted on driving and both men left the bar as snow began spitting from the sky.

At the hospital, Eddie waited at the end of a quiet corridor until an attendant came holding Eileen's hand. She recognized her brother instantly, never noticing the trauma and change that had settled into his skin. She threw her arms around his neck and would not let go, and she asked him to take her with him.

Over the objections of the nurse, Eddie carried his sister to the waiting car. It was 5 o'clock, snowing, and dark when they got back to the Beacon Cafe. Eddie removed his coat and wrapped it gently around Eileen. Then, to the cheers of all barside, they headed into the storm, past the shops on Main Street where everyone had been alerted by word of mouth that Eddie was carrying Eileen home for Christmas.

He had walked like this before, through cold and dark and danger, but now he had this light load in his arms: A girl -- young and innocent forever -- who would not let go, and her clench felt warm to his soul.

When they got to the bottom of the hill by their apartment, the whole block knew what was happening, and the neighbors stood on the slippery sidewalk as a mother ran to meet her children on a whole street filled with tears of joy simply because it was December 24, 1951, the day Eddie Kelly and his family were finally home on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas to all who serve....

To all serving our country, at home, overseas and deployed away from family & home....You & your families are in our thoughts & prayers. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2012

The Reason for the Season

A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL...May you find what you need in family, friends and all the best gifts each of us have been given.

Dear Santa....from 100 years ago in Ireland

Santa and the belief in him is the essence of what the Spirit of Christmas means...While Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, Santa Claus and all his history starting with Saint Nicholas is part of the celebration of the Christian Holiday. Through the year, items like Christmas Trees and other customs have been added to the holiday as many cultures and peoples included their traditions to Christmas.

A letter has been found in Ireland, written by two hopeful children awaiting a visit by Santa Claus. Their hopes and wishes have been shared by millions of children over the years, awaiting a Christmas visit from good old Saint Nick.


The Irish Times - Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Dear Santa Letter sent 100 years ago found up chimney

IT MAY have been slightly scorched over the years but a letter to Santa written 100 years ago, which was later discovered in a Dublin fireplace, has the magic of Christmas written all over it.

On Christmas Eve 1911, a brother and sister, who signed their names, “A or H Howard”, penned their personally designed letter to Santa with their requests for gifts and a good luck message at their home in Oaklands Terrace, Terenure (or Terurnure, as the children spelled it) in Dublin.

They placed it in the chimney of the fireplace in the front bedroom so that Santa would see it as he made his way into the Howard household in the early hours of the morning.

The letter was discovered by the house’s current occupant, John Byrne, when he was installing central heating in 1992.

Since then, he has retained it as a souvenir of another time and place but with the stamp of childhood innocence which still exists today.

The message to Santa was warm but explicit.

“I want a baby doll and a waterproof with a hood and a pair of gloves and a toffee apple and a gold penny and a silver sixpence and a long toffee.”

Ownership of the house changed over the decades, with the Byrne family moving there in 1961, but the letter survived.

“At that time, the fireplaces were made of brick with a shelf on either side,” said John Byrne who works in the building industry.

“The letter was found on one of the shelves.”

The letter remained remarkably intact given the passage of time and was only slightly burned from fires set in the house over the years.

As well as the requests for gifts from Santa the letter also contains drawings and a message of “Good Luck” to Santa from the children.

According to the 1911 census there were three children living at the address in the year in which the letter was written.

The youngest of them, Hannah, who was 10 at the time, and Fred (presumably short for Alfred) who was seven, fit in with the initials on the letter.

A third child, a 13-year-old called Lily, is also listed.

The Howard family were all born in England, including parents Fred Hamer Howard, an “under manager” in a plumber merchants, and his wife Mary Elizabeth. They listed their religion as Church of Ireland.

Where Are You Christmas

This is a great cover of Faith Hill's " Where Are You Christmas ?". I tried to find the original version to imbed but was unsuccessful. This song is one of the newer Christmas songs that I enjoy as it speaks to those who may having difficulty at this time of year. I was overseas for Christmas in 2004 & 2009 and this song makes me think about those years where I was away and having trouble getting into the Spirit of the Season.

Merry Christmas to all who are away from home and especially to those who are serving in our military as we appreciate all you do all year long.

Wreaths are placed at Arlington to ‘remember, honor and teach’

To “Remember, Honor and Teach” - This is the mission of Wreaths Across America who provide Christmas Wreaths for Servicemen's graves at Arlington National Cemetery and other national cemeteries around our country. The efforts of tireless volunteers ensure that a wreath is placed at graves and those who sacrificed are remembered.

Bravo Zulu to all who make this important effort.

Wreath-laying event at Arlington to ‘remember, honor and teach’
On Saturday, 90,000 wreaths were laid on headstones at the cemetery by about 15,000 volunteers.
By Pamela Constable,Washington Post - December 10, 2011

Thousands of people filtered quietly among the rows of white tombstones in Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, placing identical pine wreaths with simple red bows at the graves of sons, cousins, parents, battlefield buddies, fraternity brothers and strangers fallen in half-a-dozen wars over the past 70 years.

There were Boy Scout troops, military units in dress uniforms and extended families in mittens and earmuffs. Many headed for familiar spots and formed somber clusters around a single tomb. Some said prayers or read out combat citations and saluted. Others wept or simply stood and stared, lost in thought.

“Every stone here has a story,” said Tim Frey, 43, a police officer from Lancaster, Pa., who came to honor Lt. Col. Mark P. Phelan, a member of his Army Reserve unit, who was killed by an explosive device in Iraq in 2004. “I’m here from a sense of duty, and to see a friend again,” he said. “Other people may not know anyone, but it’s still an honor to come here.”

More than 100,000 wreaths, loaded onto about 20 tractor-trailers, arrived after a six-day caravan from Maine for the 20th annual Wreaths Across America event, sponsored by a nonprofit group. The trucks parked at scattered spots around the vast cemetery, and hundreds of volunteers handed them to waiting visitors.

The event included formal wreath-layings at the grave of President John F. Kennedy, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and the original mast of the USS Maine, a legendary battleship sunk in 1898.

The official slogan of the organizers was “Remember, Honor and Teach,” and the wreath-bearing convoy stopped for special events in towns on the way. But for most visitors to the cemetery, it was a day of personal mourning and private reflection.

“Christmas doesn’t seem to mean what it used to mean, and we need to remember that these soldiers died so we can have the things we have,” said Jeannie Ludwig, 39, of Fairfax, who was visiting the graves of her grandparents, both veterans of World War II, and the grave of a friend who died in Iraq. “My kids are still too young to understand what these soldiers did for us, but this is a way to begin talking to them about it.”

By far, the most crowded portion of the cemetery was Section 60, where the most recent casualties of American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

Members of the District’s National Guard unit came to mourn Spec. Darryl Dent, 19, who died in Iraq.

The grief-stricken family of Navy Cmdr. Charles K. Springle, 52, wept and hugged at his tomb. Springle died in May 2009 when a fellow U.S. soldier opened fire at a military clinic in Baghdad. His parents, Ruth and Charles, traveled from Beaufort, N.C., for the event, and were met there by his daughter, Sarah Monday.

Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Virginia Tech gathered to honor 1st Lt. Jeffrey Kaylor, killed by a grenade in Iraq. One member, Jeff Dawley, 26, of Reston, paid his respects to Kaylor and then headed to visit the grave of his father, who he said had died because of exposure to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam.

Some mourners preferred to keep their grief private. A group of tight-lipped Special Forces officers, standing next to a friend’s tomb, politely declined to speak to a reporter. At another grave, a middle-aged man recited the obituary of a soldier decorated for valor in combat, but said he would rather not talk about him.

But for many others, Wreaths Across America served as a public ritual, a way to connect veterans and their families across wars and generations, or a form of group therapy. Gray-bearded Vietnam veterans in motorcycle jackets handed out bright red Christmas caps to Boy Scout packs and shook hands with spit-and-polish Marine officers.

Lynn Hill, 62, of Silver Spring wore a historic cavalry uniform and said his mission was to memorialize the 9th and 10th Horse cavalries of the Buffalo Soldiers, the Army unit founded in 1866 and composed of freed black slaves. He said he had attended every Wreath Day since 1992, “to honor all the dead soldiers” in American history.

Regina Barnhurst, the mother of a slain Marine from Severna Park, turned her son’s tomb into a day-long gathering place for other grieving families. The spot was next to a holly tree, where she and some friends put up a ladder and invited visitors to hang personal messages on the boughs and share coffee and doughnuts.

“I used to wonder how I would survive Christmas, but this has become a way for us to support each other,” said Barnhurst, who began weeping as she recounted how her son, Eric Herzberg, had been fatally shot by a sniper in Iraq five years ago. “You have to do something to get through the holidays,” she said with a sad smile. “For all of us, there is still such a huge hole.”

Canadian troops gather for special Christmas Eve mass in Kandahar & a reminder the war doesn't stop for the holidays

I am glad the troops can take a break to celebrate Christmas....been there, done that.

Merry Christmas to them all & God Bless them while they do their duty....

Until next year, when they can be home and others will be out there to take their place.


Canadian troops gather for special Christmas Eve mass in Kandahar
Steve Rennie
Kandahar, Afghanistan— The Canadian Press

They gathered in a simple wooden chapel in a faraway land to do something quintessentially Canadian: sing Christmas songs.

These being the famed Van Doos from Valcartier, Que., they sang traditional French Christmas carols, such as Peuple fidele and Il est ne le divin enfant.

Maybe for a few minutes they forgot they were so far from home.

Christmas Eve in Kandahar The night before Christmas at Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan was a festive affair, capped by a late-night mass attended by about 100 Canadian troops.

It was a day when soldiers paired desert camouflage fatigues with red Santa hats. The wooden boardwalk was abuzz with last-minute shoppers looking for that perfect gift for colleagues or to send back home — albeit a bit late.

Others packed the Internet cafe to e-mail or call loved ones at home.

Soldiers have been in the Christmas spirit all week. Every corner of the boardwalk was festooned with ornaments and paper signs from various NATO countries. The Canadians hung a sled with a red maple leaf painted on its front. The Americans went with a cardboard mantle and faux fireplace. The British had a Christmas tree.

A gargantuan Christmas tree bedecked in ornaments and lights stood next to the ball-hockey rink at the far corner of the boardwalk. After sundown, the tiny lights strung along wooden beams twinkled like stars.

Down at the Canadian part of the base, troops lined up at Tim Hortons to be served by cashiers sporting Mrs. Claus-inspired pink toques with white trim and pompoms.

Later, as the setting sun set tinged the sky with splashes of red and purple, soldiers from all countries gathered at the boardwalk for a special, multi-denominational mass.

They sang all the usual Christmas carols and prayed together. A small orchestra provided the soundtrack against a backdrop of fighter jets roaring overhead and the thwap-thwap of helicopter rotor blades.

U.S. Navy commander and chaplain Lewis Dolan led the mass. Later, he explained that faith and nationality don't matter when it comes to Christmas in Kandahar.

“We can gather together. We can celebrate Christmas. We know our families are going to be doing it,” Cdr. Dolan said.

“So we did it together, just different parts of the world.”

Troops can look forward to a special military tradition on Christmas Day: being served turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and all the trimmings by their commanders.

And then it's back to work. The constant drone of aircraft flying overhead is a reminder the war doesn't stop for the holidays.

A Holiday Visit to Arlington National Cemetery

Be Thankful at this time of year (and always) for the brave men & women who gave us the gift of a safe & peaceful land. I was at Arlington National Cemetery in November and it is a solemn and awe inspiring place. God Bless them all.


December 22, 2010
A Holiday Visit to Arlington National Cemetery
By Donna Miles, guest blogger, American Forces Press Service

I walked the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery yesterday morning to put wreaths on the graves of two dear friends and a fallen soldier I’ve never met.

The cemetery never fails to move me, its stark white headstones standing dress-right-dress along its hills and plains for as far as the eye can see. Driving through the grand entrance gates just as they opened this morning of the winter solstice – the longest, darkest day of the year – I knew I was in for an emotional morning.

Each headstone was adorned with a holiday wreath, donated as part of the “Wreaths Across America” project. The bright red ribbons provided cheerful contrast to the cemetery’s hills and plains, much of it still blanketed with the last remnants of an early-season snow.

Walking through Section 60, the final resting place for almost 700 fallen veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, I stopped at the grave of Army Staff Sgt. James R. Patton. I’d never met “Jimmy,” as his family calls him, but I had the privilege of meeting his mother, Sheila, during a recent trip to Fort Campbell, Ky.

Jimmy, who was serving his seventh overseas deployment since 9/11 with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, died in a helicopter crash in Tikrit, Iraq, on April 18. His father, Army Command Sgt. Major Gregory Patton, who is deployed to Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, accompanied his son’s body home for the funeral, then left to rejoin his unit. Sheila Patton, despite all she’s dealt with during the past year, has stood as a font of courage and inspiration to everyone whose lives she has touched.

“I am a proud momma of a soldier who died fighting for his country and doing what he loved doing,” she told me. “If he had to die before us, that is the only way we could ever have accepted his death: to smile and be proud and honored that God thought enough of my son to make him a hero.”

But despite Sheila’s seemingly Teflon composure, I know this Christmas will be a particularly painful one.

As I stood at Jimmy’s grave, I looked around me and took in the majesty of Arlington National Cemetery. In every direction, I saw reminders that other families, like the Pattons, will be feeling the loss of a loved one this Christmas.

Many had visited their husband’s, wife’s, father’s, mother’s, son’s, daughter’s, brother’s, sister’s gravesite, leaving behind personal and very individual tributes.

Some had left simple holiday memorials: a festive floral arrangement, a miniature Christmas tree, a wrapped gift box.

Others were more elaborate. The grave of Army Cpl. Christopher John-Lee “C.J.” West, an 82nd Airborne Division soldier killed in Iraq in February 2004, featured two American flags, a large Styrofoam snowman, a set of felt reindeer antlers and a sweatshirt of West’s beloved Dallas Cowboys.

Two bright balloons flew over the grave of Sgt. Alberto Montrond, a 7th Special Forces Group soldier killed in Afghanistan in February 2006. At the base of his headstone, next to a wreath, was a plate with two holiday cupcakes.

A large floral arrangement with a ribbon proclaiming, “Rangers Lead the Way,” adorned Army Cpl. Ryan Casey McGhee’s grave. The 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, soldier was killed in Iraq in May 2009.

His mother had left behind a hand-written Christmas card, telling her son that although she thinks of him every day, the holidays are going to be especially tough.

He won’t be there to open gifts with his family, to share in a holiday toast, or even to call from a faraway deployment to tell them he loves them. And the empty seat at the dinner table will forever be a reminder of what they’ve lost.

As I left Arlington and headed off to work, I felt a deep sense of sadness over how much so many have sacrificed.

But then I remembered Sheila Patton, and the selfless gift she and so many others like her have given me and every other American.

Merry Christmas, Gold Star families. I wish you – and all of us — peace on earth

“I wanted to come out here to thank you guys personally for all that you do,” Mark Wahlberg visits Camp Leatherneck for Christmas Holiday

Boston Native Mark Wahlberg visits the troops at Camp Leatherneck for a Christmas Holiday.....Good to see the troops got a visit from him.

Glad " the Fighter" could be there for the troops....Kicking around my old stomping grounds.

Mark Wahlberg visits Helmand province
Regional Command Southwest
Story by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Fasci

Mark Wahlberg visits coalition forces aboard Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Dec. 19, 2010.

During his visit, Wahlberg premiered his new movie, "The Fighter" as well as signing autographs and having his picture taken with various service members aboard Camp Leatherneck in support of International Security Assistance Force.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl Timothy P. Chesnavage/Released)

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Service members at Camp Leatherneck, Camp Dwyer and combat outpost Azadi had the met with actor Mark Wahlberg during a holiday visit to Afghanistan, Dec. 19 and 20.

The first trip to Afghanistan by Wahlberg turned into an instant success as service members, the majority of them Marines, jockeyed for the chance to get a picture and autograph. Working twelve-to fifteen-hour days, often 7 days a week, having a celebrity like Wahlberg visit was a welcomed break for service members.

“Everyone was kind of in good spirits looking to get out of the office, go see a movie and get a few hours off of work,” said Staff Sgt. Laura Maguire, current operations chief for I Marine Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD). “It was important for me, I grew up in Jersey and he was a big deal, granted he was from Boston, but he was huge for us, you know Mark Wahlberg, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, the Calvin Klein underwear ads. Over the years he turned into a great actor and I just wanted to meet the guy.”

After arriving in Afghanistan Maj. Gen. Richard P. Mills, commander of Regional Command Southwest, met with Wahlberg and spoke to him about the many different things coalition forces are doing in Helmand province to provide security for its people. Once the meeting was done, the group set out to meet and greet as many servicemembers as possible.

During his time at Camp Leatherneck, Wahlberg visited Marines with 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Logistics Group and 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in front of their respective headquarters compounds. He also met with Marines from the military working dog platoon, the wounded warrior program and servicemembers recovering at the Bastion Hospital. Between the different meetings his new movie, ‘The Fighter,’ was played for large groups at a modified theater set up on Leatherneck.

As the crowds packed into the theater Wahlberg spoke to everyone about his deep appreciation for their efforts and why it was so important for him to come here.

“I wanted to come out here to thank you guys personally for all that you do,” said Wahlberg. “People always want to pat me on the back and tell me how great I am. I am a very humble guy, you guys deserve all the pats on the back and all the thanks in the world.”

For many service members this was the first time they had seen a movie so quickly after it was released since arriving in country nine or ten months ago.

The second day of the trip Wahlberg took a trip to Camp Dwyer. During the visit there was another showing of his new movie and visits to the medical center and wounded warrior area.

Once he was done meeting service members in these locations he pushed out to an even smaller location, COP Azadi in Marjah. Marjah was once one of the most dangerous areas in Helmand province but is now quickly becoming a model for other areas throughout Afghanistan.

Wahlberg met, took pictures with and signed autographs for as many service members as possible and broke up the monotony of everyday life in Afghanistan for coalition forces.

“He was phenomenal, he was really down to earth and soft spoken,” said Maguire. “People were literally grabbing his jacket and tugging on his hand to get his attention to get a picture and he was just cool with it. He literally took the time to sign as many autographs as people wanted and took pictures with everybody. I thought that was pretty cool because a lot of the people that come out here are just here for public appearance and not to meet the troops

Truman carrier strike group returns in time for Christmas

No better place to be than back home from Sea.....bet there might be some "Christmas Babies" coming along nine months from now.....no surprise there.


Truman carrier strike group returns in time for Christmas
WVEC.com

NORFOLK -- Just in time for the holidays, 7000 sailors and Marines from the USS Harry S. Truman strike group are home from a seven-month deployment to the Middle East.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Truman, Winston Churchill, Oscar Austin, Ross, and Normandy sailed in to Naval Station Norfolk, greeted by thousands of sign-waving family members as Christmas music played.

Among the welcoming crowd were 119 new family members. The Navy set up a new moms tent for mothers and the 119 babies born during the deployment.

The carrier group supported U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its air wing flew more than 2,900 missions.

The air wing returned over the weekend, and returning a little sooner than originally planned is a real holiday bonus.

"It's really awesome. When we left here we were under the impression that we were going to get home in January, so finding out that you get to go home for Christmas is always a blessing. It's good to see these guys and spend Christmas with everyone and really enjoy it," said Lt. Bobby Nicoli.

Lt. JG Jesse West got to hold his son for the very first time.

"I'm, like, a father. My life's changed. It hasn't hit me till today. Holding him right now, I think it's the beginning."

His wife was thrilled to have her husband home.

"I’ve waited for this for the past three and a half months. I'm just speechless. I'm just so excited that he gets to hold him now," said Margaret West.

At Christmas time, remember those who are away from home and wish they could be home instead of deployed

This time of year, when you are at your Christmas party and enjoying the company of friends & family. remember those deployed away from home. Also remember those who will never get the chance for another Christmas.....

Say a prayer for all those who go in harm's way. They keep us safe and allow us to enjoy the peace at home that all should experience this time of year....

In 2004, I was on deployment in Fallujah, Iraq......last year, I was in Kandahar, Afghanistan...Those two years were the only time I was deployed at Christmas and it made an impression on me about how much the troops sacrifice as all would want to be home on Christmas Day.

Enjoy your holiday preparations and keep the troops in your thoughts and prayers....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL WHO ARE SERVING OUR GREAT COUNTRY.....YOU ARE IN OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.....THIS WEEK, AND ALWAYS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS....Santa's got a Tank???

When you want to say " Merry Christmas ", say it with a M1-A1 Abrams Tank....