A Soldier's Christmas

[RoninLB]

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

[Oh Haha]

AMEN!!!

[kach22i]

Very cool.

[concentric]

Subject: Army Christmas Operations Order: 12-24-04



Pay Attention!

Subject: Army Christmas Operations Order: 12-24-04
Date: Thu, 2 Dec 2004 10:24:15 -0500
X-Priority: 3

Army Christmas Operations Order: 12-24-04

Subject: Christmas

1. An official visit by MG Santa (NMI) Claus is expected at this headquarters 25 December 2004. The following instructions will be in effect and govern the activities of all personnel during the visit:

a. Not a creature will stir without official permission. This will include indigenous mice. Special Stirring Permits for necessary administrative actions will be obtained through normal channels. Mice Stirring Permits will be obtained through the Office of the Surgeon General, Veterinary Services.

b. Personnel will settle their brains for a long winter nap prior to 2200 hours, 24 December 2004. Uniform for the nap will be: PAJAMAS, cotton, light, drawstring; with KERCHIEF, general purpose, camouflage; and CAP, camouflage w/ear flaps. Equipment will be drawn from CIF prior to 1900 hours, 24 December 2004.

c. Personnel will utilize standard field ration sugar plums for visions to dance through their heads. Artificially sweetened plums are authorized for those in their unit weight control program. Specifications for this item will be provided by the servicing dining facility.

d. STOCKINGS, wool, cushioned sole, will be hung by the chimney with care. Necessary safety precautions will be taken to avoid fire hazards
caused by carelessly hung stockings. Unit safety Officers will submit stocking hanging plans to this headquarters prior to 0800 hours, 24 December 2004, ATTN: DCSLOG, for approval.

e. At the first sign of clatter from the lawn, all troops will spring from their beds to evaluate noise and cause. Immediate action will be taken to tear open the shutters and throw open the window sashes. DCSOPS Plan (Saint Nick), Reference LO No. 3, paragra ph 6c, this headquarters, 2 February 2004, will be in effect to facilitate shutter tearing and sash
throwing. Division chiefs will familiarize all personnel with procedures and are responsible for ensuring that no shutters are torn open nor window sashes thrown open prior to start of official clatter.

f. Prior to 2400 hours, 24 December 2004, all personnel will be assigned Wondering Eye stations. After shutters are thrown open and sashes are torn, these stations will be manned.

g. The ODCSLOG will assign one each SLEIGH, miniature, M-66, and eight (8) DEER, rein, tiny, for use by MG Claus' driver who (per IAW current directives and other applicable regulations) must have a valid SF 56 properly annotated by Driver Testing; be authorized rooftop parking; and be able to shout, "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen, up Comet, up Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!".

2. MG Claus will enter quarters through standard chimneys. All units without chimneys will draw Chimney Simulator, M-6, for use during ceremonies. Chimney simulator units will be requested on Engineer Job Order Request Forms, submitted to the Furniture Warehouse prior to 19 December 2004, and issued on DA Form 3161, Request for Issue or Turn-in.

3. Personnel will be rehearsed on shouting, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" This shout will be given on termination of General Claus' visit. Uniformity of shouting is the responsibility of division chiefs.

/x// & nbsp;

CHRISTOPHER K. RINGLE
Colonel, USA
OIC, Special Services

Distribution:
Everyone Who Still Believes

[stuartj]

Originally posted by RoninLB
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

etc etc

Gosh, that nearly made me cry.

However, back in the real world of military adventurism:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/05/MNGC99MHHJ1.DTL


'Mercy killing' of Iraqi revives GI conduct debate
Teen rubbish patrol shot up by troops -- wounded youth slain
Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times

Friday, November 5, 2004

Baghdad -- As a U.S. Army patrol rolled into Sadr City one night in August, soldiers received a tip that militants in dump trucks were planting roadside bombs.

American troops had been clashing regularly with the Mahdi Army -- Muqtada al-Sadr's militia -- in the restive Baghdad slum. So when Staff Sgt. Cardenas Alban of Carson, Los Angeles County, saw an object fall from a garbage truck in the distance, his company took positions around the vehicle and unleashed a barrage of fire from rifles and a 25-millimeter cannon atop a Bradley fighting vehicle. The truck exploded in flames.

As soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment approached the burning vehicle, they did not find insurgents. The victims were mainly teenagers, hired to work the late shift picking up trash for about $5 a night, witnesses said.

Medics scrambled to treat the half a dozen people strewn around the scene. A dispute broke out among a handful of soldiers standing over one severely wounded young man who was moaning in pain. An unwounded Iraqi claiming to be a relative of the victim pleaded in broken English for soldiers to help him.

But to the horror of bystanders, Alban, 29, a boyish-faced sergeant who joined the Army in 1997, retrieved an M-231 assault rifle and fired into the wounded man's body. Seconds later, another soldier, Staff Sgt. Johnny Horne Jr. , 30, of Winston-Salem, N.C., grabbed an M-16 rifle and also shot the victim.

The killing might have been forgotten except for a U.S. soldier who days later slipped an anonymous note under the door of the unit's commander, Capt. Robert Humphries, warning that "soldiers had committed serious crimes that needed to be looked at."

U.S. officials have since characterized the shooting as a "mercy killing, " citing statements by Alban and Horne that they had shot the wounded Iraqi "to put him out of his misery."

Military attorneys, however, are calling it premeditated murder and have charged the two sergeants, saying the victim's suffering was no excuse for the soldiers' actions.

"I have no doubt that's why they did it," said Capt. John Maloney, one of the military attorneys prosecuting the case. "But it still constitutes murder."

Iraqis who witnessed the Aug. 18 shooting said that rather than provide medical help to an injured civilian, the soldiers had treated the Iraqi as if he were an animal struck by a car.

"We are not sheep," said Emad Raheem, 40, who said he was the driver of the dump truck. "We are human beings."

Seven Iraqis were killed in the attack, including the one who was shot, military officials said. Eight others were wounded.

Alban and Horne and their attorneys declined to comment. In statements to military investigators, both acknowledged shooting the Iraqi but have not entered formal pleas. They are facing Article 32 hearings in Baghdad, which will determine whether there is enough evidence to begin court-martial proceedings. If convicted, the soldiers could receive the death penalty.

The case -- one of about a dozen murder cases filed against U.S. troops in Iraq -- is fueling a debate about the conduct of American forces in Iraq and the treatment of Iraqi civilians, particularly since the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Two other soldiers in Alban's unit, from Fort Riley, Kan., also are under investigation in separate cases for what military officials say were the premeditated murders of three Iraqi civilians.

In September, a U.S. reservist was sentenced to 25 years for killing a teenage Iraqi national guard soldier after a sexual encounter.

"These crimes represent the pinnacle of American oppression and violence, " said Mudaffar Battat, editor of a Sadr City newspaper.

Iraqi witnesses identified the teen killed by Alban and Horne as Qassim Hassan, 16, who had joined his brother and several cousins that night to earn extra money. They said their group of 15 had been traveling in three dump trucks at about 1:30 a.m. and had just passed through a military checkpoint when they were attacked.

"Most of (the victims) were poor teenagers," said Heider Ali Ismail, 21, who drove one of the trucks. "We were finishing up and just about to unload the trucks."

Hassan sat in the back of one of the trucks amid the rubbish, which ignited after the American soldiers struck.

Hassan's cousin, Ahmed Majid, said in an interview that Hassan's clothing had caught fire, and he had struggled to jump off the truck, falling to the ground unconscious.

Military officials would not confirm whether Hassan was the same person shot by the soldiers. Majid and Raheem said they had been invited to testify at a military hearing Saturday.

Accounts of the incident by U.S. and Iraqi witnesses bear some similarities, but the two sides disagree on other aspects of the attack, including the extent of injuries suffered by the Iraqi.

Alban and Horne said in confessions that the man they shot was severely wounded and unlikely to survive. They said they had watched him moan and writhe in pain until they could stand it no longer.

Majid said his cousin was unconscious and struggling to breathe, but his only injuries were burns. He said he pleaded with soldiers to help his cousin and his brother, who was still trapped in the burning truck. But when he tried to help Hassan, he said, a soldier pushed him away, saying, "Shut up and go!" Then the soldier shot his cousin, he said.

Majid said his family had received $7,500 in compensation for the deaths of Hassan, another cousin and his brother.

[Victor]

No offence to those here that are sentimental military enthusiast types, but:

WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!

[stuartj]

Originally posted by Victor


WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!

How can you say that? How can not you not read this and choke up, you cyncial b@stard?


SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

[turbo6bar]

Nice, RoninLB.

[stuartj]

Why do you hate Santa so much?


THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

Sing it with me, everybody.

Oh, say can you see.....

[A Quiet Boom]

I recieved that in an email last week, might have even forwarded it to Ron. I did well up a bit after reading it. Stuart I don't think this thread is an appropriate place to post a story criticizing soldiers, sure bad things happen in a time of war but unless you've been on the front lines you really don't know what it's like to have your life in serious risk everyday. The police and military never get the credit they deserve in this country but they do get more than there fair share of criticism and are rarely given the benefit of the doubt by the media. War is never about one military against another, it always includes civilians that always has and always will be a fact.

Raise this issue in a separate thread and leave this one to those of us how wish to show our gratitute and respect to those risking their lives on our behalf. Every right you have in this country was given to you and protected for you by a soldier, that includes the right to dissent. A decent person would show some respect at least once in a while.

[stuartj]

Really Christian

Here's a deal. You keep your soldiers from shooting up the civilians of foreign countries, then "mercy killing" the wounded- and I'll stop critisising your gung ho, irresponsiible, ill disciplined military.

In the meantime, refrain from p1ssing in my pocket and telling me its raining.

OK?

Merry Christmas

Stuart

[A Quiet Boom]

Stuart,

I simply asked if you could discuss this in another thread. I'm not going to discuss it any further in this one.

[rcecale]

Stuartj, Victor...



Happy Holidays, from mine to you and yours!

Randy

[stuartj]

Didn’t look like a question to me, looked like a demand.

Your opinions on what is appropriate and what is not, are interesting, but rather irrelevant.

In your world one is required to be respectful of the military. When the miliary commits an atrocity and shoots people in the head in cold blood, you post infantile nursery rhyme fantasies in which we construct the world as we would really, really, really, really like it to be.

Things are certainly different out there in Jesusland.

Greetings from earth.

Stuart

[stuartj]

Originally posted by rcecale
Stuartj, Victor...



Happy Holidays, from mine to you and yours!

Randy

Thinking most of the time, Gomer.

You?

Stuart

[Victor]

[rcecale]

Originally posted by stuartj
Thinking most of the time, Gomer.

You?

Stuart

Not "most of the time"....ALWAYS, ya puke!

Randy

P.S. C'mon, Victor, come up with something original. sheesh!

Randy

[M.D. Holloway]

all you guys that give ***** about the war always get so freakin aggresive yet the guys that back the war get nasty only when kicked. Ya know, for a bunch of doves, ya all sure do gots some fangs.

You behave like the pro-lifers killing abortion doctors. If you want peace, start being peaceful, freakin hypocrites...

[rcecale]

Originally posted by A Quiet Boom
Every right you have in this country was given to you and protected for you by a soldier, that includes the right to dissent. A decent person would show some respect at least once in a while.

Christian,

I'd venture to say that since stuartj doesn't list his location in his profile, he's probably from France or some POS country like that. Right Stu? c'mon, it's nothing to be ashamed of...well....maybe you're right...better just to keep us all guessing, than to come right out and admit it.

Randy

[M.D. Holloway]

Eleven thousand soldiers
lay beneath the dirt and stone,
all buried on a distant land
so far away from home.

For just a strip of dismal beach
they paid a hero's price,
to save a foreign nation
They all made the sacrifice.

And now the shores of Normandy
Are lined with blocks of white:
Americans who didn't turn
from someone else's plight.

Eleven thousand reasons
for the French to take our side,
but in the moment of our need,
they chose to run and hide.

Chirac said every war means loss,
perhaps for France that's true,
for they've lost every battle
since the days of Waterloo.

Without a soldier worth a damn
to be found within the region,
the French became the only land
to need a Foreign Legion.

You French all say we're arrogant.
Well hell, we've earned the right--
We saved your sorry nation
when you lacked the guts to fight.

But now you've made a big mistake,
and one that you'll regret;
you took sides with our enemies,
and that we won't forget.

It wasn't just our citizens
you spit on when you turned,
but every one of yours
who fell the day the towers burned.

You spit upon our soldiers,
on our pilots and Marines,
and now you'll get a little sense
of just what payback means.

So keep your Paris fashions
and your wine and your champagne,
and find some other market
that will buy your airplanes.

And try to find somebody else
to wear your French cologne,
for you're about to find out
what it means to stand alone.

You see, you need us far more
than we ever needed you.
America has better friends
who know how to be true.


I'd rather stand with warriors
who have the will and might,
than huddle in the dark
with those whose only flag is white.

I'll take the Brits, the Aussies,
the Israelis and the rest,
for when it comes to valor
we have seen that they're the best.

We'll count on one another
as we face a moment dire,
while you sit on the sideline
with a sign, "friendship for hire."

We'll win this war without you
and we'll total up the cost,
and take it from your foreign aid,
and then you'll feel the loss.

And when your nation starts to fall,
well Frenchie, you can spare us,
just call the Germans for a hand,
they know the way to Paris.