A Veteran's Journey

Q – In what movie did we hear, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.”?
Q – Who said, “Light tomorrow with today.”?
Q – What Christmas carol contains the following lyrics?
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new glorious morn
Fall on your knees
O hear the angels’ voices

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First of all, Merry Christmas from Gainesville, Florida.

I have friends and extended “families” around the world. Some are veterans, some are classmates, some are business associates, but all are friends. I often call these wonderful folks, “my family away from home.”

And, like a few of my friends, if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I wish you a warm, happy, and healthy Holiday season.

My mom kept all the letters I wrote home while in the Navy; just like my grandmother kept my dad’s letters he wrote home during World War II. Recently, I read through some of my old letters, trying to find one that I wrote during the holidays I spent away from home.

During my four years in the Navy, I spent several Thanksgivings and Christmases away from home. When I flew to NAS Agana, Guam, I arrived the day before Thanksgiving. I was 18 years old and it was my first Thanksgiving away from home. Number two was also in Guam. And, both of my Navy Christmases away from home were spent in Guam.

I was an aircraft firefighter in what was called, “Crash & Rescue.” At the Crash Barn, which was located adjacent to the airport runways, we worked 24-hours on and 24-hours off. Or, as the Navy conveniently put it, “Port and Starboard.” I was in the Port section. That was our working schedule for my 15 months in Guam.

I can’t recall if I was on duty or not during the holidays. But chances were, I worked more than one.

For a lot of active duty personnel (then and now), Christmas was a little different holiday than Thanksgiving; I think so for almost everyone. People celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah in different ways. And, some people don’t celebrate at all.

Yes, I know they are two different holidays, but stay with me here.

What I mean is that for most of us growing up (that includes YOU), holidays were usually spent with our families. It didn’t matter your race or your religion. The fact is, we all grew up with a family holiday tradition of some sort, year after year.

So, for many of us veterans who grew up with our own individual family traditions, our first Christmas (or Hanukkah) away from home was spent celebrating with complete strangers–all of whom had their own family holiday traditions.

At the time we may not have known it, but… we were family.

I’m going off on a slight tangent here and I know I’m stretching it a tad, but stay with me.

Imagine the board room at General Mills many moons ago, when someone brought up the idea of combining a breakfast cereal… with nuts… and pretzels… and, while we’re at it, let’s add in some Worcestershire sauce, some butter, and, don’t forget, garlic seasoning.

Here’s a bunch of different textures, flavors, colors, tastes, and aromas all thrown into a bag that will, over time, marinate. Or, as my mother used to say about casseroles, they “have time to get acquainted.”

That’s what we were. Guys from all over the country with different tastes and colors, different religions and traditions, and yes, some of us had a stronger aroma than others. We were thrown together into a cohesive, working, unit–a family of sorts. And, “we got acquainted.”

As I think back on those first holidays away from home—in the military—one thing I do remember is missing the time together with my family at home. Most of the times, I remember lots of family, lots of good food, and lots of happiness.

Celebrating Christmas in Guam was, how shall I say, different than celebrating at home. If on duty at the Crash Barn, we shared a good meal with our new family. Several of us played guitar and we may have even broken out in a Christmas carol or two. The food was good and there was always plenty of it. I don’t ever recall going hungry in the Navy.

But, I know it wasn’t that way for everyone, especially those in the middle of a war—yes, we were still fighting the Vietnam War.

One thing was certain, though, and I don’t think it mattered if you were Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, or Coast Guard. It didn’t matter if you were in a foxhole, a hooch, or on a South Seas island. When you got a package of goodies in the mail during Christmas, everyone shared what they had. There’s probably a standard issue General Order somewhere that states, “thou shalt share all holiday goodies with other members of your unit.”

That was a military tradition, carried on for generations. My dad even mentioned this several times in his letters.

I learned a lot during my time in the Navy. One of the most important things I learned, was that while we all came from different backgrounds and traditions, we all served together, as a team, with the same basic principles and ideals.

And that, my friends, is one of the most honorable traditions I can think of.

During this time of the year, I know you’ll remember that there are hundreds of thousands of service men and women who are not able to spend this holiday time with their own families. Some may have a tougher time celebrating than others. But, they are out there, helping to protect the very freedoms we continue to enjoy today.

If you think about it, all of us are connected to a veteran in one way or another. Our grandfathers may have fought in WWI or WWII; our fathers may have fought in WWII or Korea or Vietnam. We certainly have classmates and friends who joined and served (or are currently serving). We owe these men and women a rousing round of thanks for what they do.

WE… ARE… FAMILY!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays.

Until we meet again,
Andy

Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.

Answers:

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946).
2. Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
3. O Holy Night, composed by Adolphe Adam (1847) to the French poem, “Minuit, chretiens (Midnight, Christians),” written by wine merchant and poet Placide Cappeau (1808-1877).