Sometimes, the neatest and most special things aren't the things that you can plan... they just sort of happen on their own...
Sometime around 1984 or so, my platoon was scheduled to be in the field training during the Christmas holiday. We thought that this sucked for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that we were assigned to a weapons platoon, which consisted of the 'Mortar Maggots' - the 80mm and 160mm mortar guys, The 'Panzer Fausts (Anti-Tank)' (the Dragon and TOW gunners), the Stinger teams, the machine gunners, and the sniper squads, of which I was a member.
Generally, we are broken apart and assigned to various companies. For instance, my two man sniper team was assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Platoon. Each of the other sniper teams were assigned to other platoons and companies... and the same went for the mortar teams and machine gun teams. Basically, even though I was technically assigned to Headquarters company; weapons platoon, I went to the field and trained with Alpha company. It's confusing in writing, but simple in practice. The short version is that we were administratively assigned to HQ company, and operationally attached to whichever line company we happend to be assigned to. This was more or less a permanent gig, as we didn't switch around from company to company for the most part.
So... here it is, Christmas Eve, and the weapons platoon is supposed to be going out to the field to train as a unit, which, honestly.... is just plain stupid. I have no idea who's bright idea this was, though many of us had some suspicions...
We were airlanded at our drop zone, and moved out into the treeline after the sound of the choppers died down. It was a cold, clear night, with a sky simply full of stars. Snow was on the ground, and while the moon wasn't full, it provided a great deal of light. This made it seem like twilight, what with the snow on the ground.
We were pissed off when we had first heard the news that we would be working on Christmas, and for no good reason, and to no sensible end whatsoever... but, we were soldiers, and when it came down to it, we checked our gear, shouldered our rucksacks, and moved out without any grumbling.... .... well,.... without much grumbling, anyway...
We stayed on the move for some hours, hitting a series of checkpoints along our route and radioing our position back to the TOC (Tactical Operations Center). We were going to be practicing a tactical reconnaissance of an objective (a mobile radar site - actually a U.S. Army mobile radar site. They had no idea that we would be coming..), after which we were going to be given orders to conduct a raid against the site, simulate destroying it, and then move back to a pre-determined pickup point.
What we didn't know is that they had some surprises in store for us... there was a rapid reaction force of soldiers prepared to pounce on us right after the raid, and we would have to rapidly retreat, setting up a series of hasty ambushes to slow down the pursuit (this is the sniper's job... we drop off and stay behind, drop a bad guy, then try to link up with the unit again at a pre-arranged rally point). We also set up a text book L-shaped ambush and actually creamed one entire platoon... but before all of this, we had no idea that it would pan out that way... the training was in fact very useful, and we had more or less, a good time. Back to Christmas Eve...
We had been moving for a few hours, and finally we reached what is called the ORP or Objective Rally Point. Here we set up in a 'cigar shaped perimeter' (not my term.. but it is what it is), check everything from A to Z, get a little rest if possible, the leaders do what is called a 'leader's reconnaissance', where they creep up and eyeball the objective to see whether it is still the way the pre-operation intelligence described it (it would be handy to know that three battalions have arrived to reinforce a potential target before one hurls oneself at said target...). Generally, they leave two guys watching the objective, and then come back and bring the remainder of the unit, minus heavy rucksacks and crap like that to conduct the raid. A few guys stay back to guard the rucksacks.
We had just arrived at the ORP, we are all lying on the ground.. in the snow... looking outwards... suddenly one of the guys stage-whispers "Hey! It's Christmas! Merry Christmas, guys!"
We all sort of rolled onto our backs, so that we could look towards the center of the circle, and, thus, at one another... and whispered 'Merry Christmases' and hand-shakes were exchanged. In the very center of our perimeter... dead center, in fact, was a small evergreen tree... one of the guys dug in his rucksack, took something out, and scuttled over to the tree... he had brought a small brass Christmas tree ornament with him, and he hung it on one of the branches of the tree. We all sat and stared at it for a few seconds... then one of the other guys went up and hung the pop top from a can of something that he had eaten on a branch... a little shiny metal disk, swinging from a ring... I followed suit by hanging my dog tags, and each of the guys in turn dug something out and decorated our tree.
The First Sergeant had been doing something during this, and he came around with a huge thermos of hot cocoa, and poured a bit into each of our canteen cups... shaking our hands and saying, "Merry Christmas, Dirtbag!", "Merry Christmas, Shit-For-Brains!", "Hey! Joe Shit the Rag Man! Merry Fucking Christmas!", "Merry Christmas, Useless!" to each of us in turn.
We sipped our hot chocolate, looking at our field-expedient Christmas tree, and the stars twinkled in the cold dark sky like distant, constant, companions.... I could smell the piney scent of the evergreens around me, mixed with wisps of hot chocolate and candy cane (Our platoon leader, (a first lieutenant) had followed the First Sergeant around, wishing us all a very Merry Christmas, thanking us for our service and our dedication, and neatly dropping a candy cane into our hot chocolate... like a gaily colored stir-stick. It was like drinking a cup of Girl-Scout Cookie!)
I felt a sense of complete and utter peace and contentment unlike anything I had ever experienced before that moment...
Norm, the senior sniper in our two-man team, back-handed me in the arm, snapping me back to the present moment. He handed me a box, wrapped in a brown GI towel, and tied with a shoelace. "Merry Christmas, Bro. I want my towel back after you open it."
I opened the package. It was a pair of Herman Survivor insulated combat boots. One of the other guys tossed something at me just then. It was a pair of thick warm woolen socks. "Merry Christmas, asshole!"
"Now, maybe we don't have to hear you snivel anymore about your fuckin' feet being cold! Merry Christmas! Wear 'em in good health!"
I dug out the presents that I had brought for the guys... thinking at the time that I was the only one who had done this. As it turned out, every single person had brought something along to give to each of us.
We sat there, admiring our gifts and smiling our asses off... eating cold pop tarts and drinking hot cocoa, and enjoying one another's company.
It was one of the best Christmases I ever had in my life...
"..It came without boxes, it came without bags, it came without wrapping, ribbons or tags. Maybe Christmas isn't something you buy in a store. Maybe Christmas is something a little bit more."
Dr. Seuss - 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'
Merry Christmas to all of you. Each and every one of you. Please take a moment during this holiday season to reflect on the fact that a great many of our number will not be home this Christmas with their families. They are in harm's way, protecting us, and our way of life.
While my heart will be with my wife and my family this holiday season, some part of it will be out in the field, with my fellow soldiers... drinking a watery cup of hot chocolate, freezing my ass off, and loving every minute of it.
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