In 1972, I was stationed overseas, in Japan, at Christmas time. I was a Staff Sergeant in the Marine Corps, and was in my fifth year of service.
At that time, I’d been married for five years (I married very young), had a wonderful wife, two children, and we had bought a house while I was on leave, in anticipation of my being discharged when my overseas tour was finished.
As luck would have it, I had to work on Christmas day; I was the assigned “Duty NCO (Non Commissioned Officer)” for the day, which essentially meant that I had to be up early, on Christmas morning, and put on my dress uniform, and relieve the previous days’ Duty NCO.
For me, and all my fellow Marines, there was no Christmas season that year. In town, there were no decorations, no music, and no evidence that it was the Christmas season. Even on base, there were scant reminders; a Christmas card here, some cookies there, etc. It’s not like guys will decorate their areas, or tape a card to the wall, or anything like that.
Since I had duty that day, I anticipated that I may have to deal with a little sorrowful “over indulgence”; after all, I had hundreds of mostly young men, (like myself) who were away from home for their first Christmas, in a country that did not celebrate Christmas.
As it transpired, the day was extremely quiet, and sedate. I think we all just wanted the day to pass quickly; we wanted Christmas to be over.
Now, in those pre cell phone days, if you wanted to call home, you had to make an appointment with a call center on base. You would schedule the time, and they would do the work of calling the number, which was no small task, and then you would arrive at the appointed time, and, like magic, you’d be talking with your wife, or your girl friend, or Mom, etc.
All the calls had to be “reverse charges”; when I would call home, about once a month, my wife would be awakened at 2, or 3 am, and we would talk for about ten minutes; which would cost about $ 36.00 (in 1972 dollars), so we didn’t dwell on small talk; it was more like “I love you, I miss you, how are the kids? Goodbye”.
In those days, making an overseas call was a challenging endeavor. It wasn’t like it is now, where a person can simply dial a series of numbers, and poof, you are instantly connected to your party. In those days, you would call the operator, and start a process that would often take hours. You’d be connected to a series of telephone operators, long distance operators, and the overseas operators, etc, etc, etc. It is not something that the feint of heart could accomplish.
Anyway, since I had Duty, I knew there was no way that I could arrange to call home; my schedule wasn’t my own, and I couldn’t anticipate when I would have any free time. Besides that, my wife would be with her family, and trying to make a specific connection was not going to happen. I did call home a couple days before, and that was my Christmas call.
So, on Christmas morning, I dutifully got up early, and headed for the Head (bathroom for you civilians) to take my shower. The barracks I was in consisted of a single floor, with two squad bays, and a Head in the center. The Head had a telephone on the wall, a dial phone, of course, that could only be used for on-base communications.
Just as I walked into the Head, the phone range, and of course, I reached over I picked it up, and identified myself, in the smart military manner. Much to my surprise, I heard a familiar voice at the other end, asking for myself, Staff Sergeant Holly. The voice was that of my step-dad; he was almost as incredulous as I was that I had been the one to answer the phone.
He didn’t hesitate, and said: “..hold on, your Mom wants to talk to you”. I was simultaneously stunned, and overjoyed at this happening. I didn’t know how this could be, but it sure put a big smile on my face; I was very happy.
Needless to say, we had a happy conversation, though too short, and it was over before it began. But those few moments have lasted for over 36 Christmas’.
That call, and the story, and people that worked to make that call happen, turned an otherwise bleak Christmas away from home, overseas, into one that has special meaning, for me, and ranks among the most memorable Christmas’ of my life.
Lot’s of things had to go just right, and lots of folks had to go out of their way to make it a very special Christmas for me. My step Dad, bless him, who married my Mom when I was already grown, was a rough sorta character (who was really a pussy cat); a World War II veteran who had horrible scars to prove it, and who, when he put his mind to it, could get things done just by the force of his personality.
So, when my Mom said that she wanted to talk to me, by golly, he was going to make it happen. It is so amazing that he did it with the information he had; the only address he had for me was the usual generic FPO address, my name, rank, and service. He must have known the base I was on, too.
I know it took hours, and there must have been alot of well-meaning operators along the way that really wanted to make this happen for an American G.I.
And the miracle that, having once reached my base, some folks must have gone way out of their way to track me down, and put the call through to the barracks.
And, for gosh sake, what are the chances that I would walk into the Head at the same moment that the phone rang ? I would say it is impossible, but, that is exactly the way it happened.
So, even though I couldn’t see the usual decorations and trappings of the Christmas season, the Christmas Spirit was still alive and well, and I was the beneficiary of the true spirit of Christmas.
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Think about our soldiers on Christmas Day.
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Merry Christmas !
and Happy New Year in 2009
Spencer Holly
0090
www.angrycalifornian.com
(not so angry)
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Remember the troops: http://www.military.com/benefits/resources/support-our-troops
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Christmas Music:
I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Elvis Presley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQL-8nzbjtM
Silent Night – Olivia Newton John http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6P3fCDQVMI
White Christmas – Celtic Women
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOgaTRFbIlg
The Christmas Song – Celtic Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To822SCxolM
Silent Night – Celtic Women http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtQr81k3TSk
Christmas Pipes – Celtic Woman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njm1IkL0w7o
I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Rascal Flatts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW8wMMIVBFM
Oh Holy Night – Celine Dionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jr-2eyRtV4
