MY TURN: Holiday wishes for those who defend our country
The holiday season is here, with our thoughts turning to celebrations with family and friends. Festive decorations adorn our homes, neighborhoods and communities. As festivities begin, holiday lights beam a radiant message of celebration and good cheer.
The season begins with Thanksgiving, a time of giving thanks for all we have. Our families gather at the table filled with a feast fit for a King and toast our good fortune. We remember our ancestors who sat at our table and relish the young ones learning about family traditions. The little ones sometimes need a little help with the mashed potatoes and manage to get more on their face than in their stomach, but their smile tells it all. They enjoy eating with their family.
For some families, there is an empty chair at the table. Some empty chairs remind us of a loved one serving in a foreign land, on the high seas, or in the air, defending our great country with a patriotism only known to military members. Gold Star families lament their loved ones lost in war, but they are honored and remembered during this time of year. Their empty chair is filled with love and memories of a cherished family member.
Many have spent Christmas in combat zones. The “Battle of the Bulge,” the German Army incursion into Allied lines from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945, is a solemn reminder of our troops in battle at Christmas. By Dec. 21, 1944, the Germans had surrounded the Belgian town of Bastogne, defended by our 101st Airborne Division, which was short on food, ammo, and medical supplies. The German Commander, Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz, demanded surrender. General Anthony McAuliffe, Commander of the 101st, sent the reply “NUTS,” the morale booster that had to be explained to the Germans and non-American Allies alike. On Christmas Day, Hitler’s XLVII Panzer Corps launched an assault on individual positions on the perimeter of the 101st but was defeated, and its tanks were destroyed. Soldiers on both sides surely remember that Christmas!
For families with troopers still in harm’s way, holiday wishes will be with them. From distant lands, a Christmas song will be in the hearts of our warriors, steadfastly doing their duty:
I’ll be home for Christmas
You can plan on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light beams
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Merry Christmas, everybody!
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Jack Evensizer is a Dalton Gardens resident and veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry.