Twelve Year Old Care Packages Operation Make Their Day

Santa's soldier: Granger boy sending care packages to deployed military
WNDU News
By Maria Catanzarite
December 11, 2016 

GRANGER
Ever since Tristan Badia was a little boy, he had a giving spirit. It started with feeding little sister Haylie.

"Always getting out, getting her bottles -- stuff like that, and it just kind of pushed on and on from there," said Jason, Tristan's father

Now, it's on to Operation Make Their Day, the second year the 12-year-old from Granger is making care packages for deployed service members. Last year, when NewsCenter 16 met Tristan, he sent 26 cardboard boxes of goodies overseas. In 2016, he and Haylie have compiled 30 packages -- and the mission isn't over.
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Holidays and PTSD

Holidays and PTSD
National Center For PTSD

The holiday season is often difficult for people with PTSD, but there are healthy ways to cope and manage stress.

Here are some tips from our clinicians that can help you manage your PTSD symptoms over this holiday season:

Don't overschedule. Leave time for yourself.

Make a plan to get things done. Set small, doable goals.

When stressed, remind yourself of what has helped in the past.

Use the tools from PTSD Coach app or PTSD Coach Online to help you manage stress.

Reach out for support if you need it. Know you can rely on for help. If your symptoms are getting worse or you feel down, reach out to your provider or Call the Crisis Line.

If you know someone with PTSD, there are things you can do to make sure the holiday season is pleasant and enjoyable for everyone.

Educate yourself: Download and read Understand PTSD and PTSD Treatment (PDF), to learn more about how PTSD affects your loved one.

Talk to your family member about what they need to feel comfortable during the holidays. If your loved one needs services, call Coaching into Care for advice in talking to them about treatment.

Keep important resources at hand, such as the Veterans Crisis Line, a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text. Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Papa Ward, Pastor to Homeless Veterans Died on Christmas Day

The man who gave hope dies on the greatest day of hope
Daily Commercial
Tom McNiff
December 30, 2015

Papa Ward, the pastor of Logos Christian Fellowship church in Leesburg, died Christmas day. Those who knew him best say it was fitting that Ward, who brought hope to so many, died on Christ's birthday -- celebrated in the Christian faith as a day of hope.

Papa Chris Ward
Gary Kadow, Pastor Chris Ward, and Deb and Bob Peters pose for a photo on the day after Thanksgiving, a day spent worming with homeless people in the Ocala National Forest.

Long before there was a Project SOS, a veterans aid organization that, in part, helps homeless veterans living in the Ocala National Forest, there was Chris Ward.

The one-time Army Airborne Ranger, who became a minister after leaving the service, had been tromping across the pine needles and through the thickets of the forest looking for campgrounds where homeless veterans retreated to wrestle in solitude with the demons they brought back from the battlefield.

He brought them food, fresh water, clothing, blankets -- anything to soften their rugged day-to-day existence. But most of all, he brought something most people couldn't. He brought understanding, the kind of understanding that only another combat veteran could offer.
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Homeless Veteran Hasn't Lost Faith After 20 Years

Homeless veteran hopes faith can pull him through holidays and beyond
WLBT News
Mike Lacy
Posted: Dec 25, 2015

“I am a Christian man,” Holton said. “I don’t know if people want to hear that. But I believe in God and God still takes care of me.....My only hope is Christ. I mean, that’s all I got. That’s gotten better. I mean. To know you’ve got somebody that cares for you.”

JACKSON COUNTY, MS (WLOX)
A public rest stop is Chuck Holton’s neighborhood on Christmas day, his SUV is his home and there's no celebration. There never is.

The 51-year-old former Navy firefighter and Marine has lived this way for 20 years.

“When I got out in 1995, I can tell you I never thought I’d be where I am now,” Holton said. “Never thought I’d get down into this deep slump.”

Holton moves according to the season, and he’s been all over the country. Most of the time, he is rousted from his sleep as he bunks. He has a veterans disability pension that allows him to buy meager supplies.

So far, Holton has found friends - including police officers and security guards - who allow him to shift around the Mississippi Interstate rest areas along I-10.
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Brevard County Homeless Veterans Hotel for Holiday

Group provides help for homeless veterans in Titusville
WESH News
By Matt Grant
Published Dec 25, 2015

National Veterans Homeless Support provides food, shelter for veterans

TITUSVILLE, Fla. —Local homeless veterans are receiving help this Christmas. They're not only receiving meals, but also a stay in a hotel.

The National Veterans Homeless Support group is taking action this holiday season to help veterans and their families have a merry Christmas.

Vietnam veteran William Cruz is fighting a different battle these days.

"I didn't have nothing, not even to go to McDonald's," Cruz said.

The former Marine said his wife's medical bills wiped them out, leaving them homeless. That is, until the National Veterans Homeless Support group rescued him.

The Brevard County charity is putting more than 40 vets and their families up in a hotel for Christmas, giving them warm meals and supplies.
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Christmas Tree in Vietnam Spreading Joy Since 1968

Christmas tree used during Vietnam War bringing joy to veteran in Middletown
The Intelligencer
By Anthony DiMattia, staff writer
Posted: Friday, December 25, 2015

Chloe Elmer/Photojournalist
Veterans share Christmas tree that was bought during Vietnam
Vietnam Veteran Jesse Hill, left, received a Christmas tree from his friend Ferdie Tellado, center, which he had while serving in Vietnam on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015. Hill and Ferdie are members of Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans. Pictured right is Scott Tellado, a veteran of Iraq and Bosnia who also had the tree.

It was December 1968 when Ferdie Tellado received a much needed care package from his wife while he was serving in Vietnam.

But this wasn't any regular parcel for a soldier away at war; it was something much more symbolic: a Christmas tree.

"I was the only one there with a Christmas tree," said Tellado, now a member of the Delaware Valley Vietnam Veterans. "We sang and did everything around that tree."

Fast forward 47 years and that same 2½-foot tree is now bringing joy to another Vietnam veteran: Middletown resident Jesse Hill.

As a show of camaraderie, Tellado gave the tree to his fellow DV3 member.
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Homeless Veteran Lost All Except Hope From a Christmas Tree

Homeless man with Christmas tree forced to move from expressway after group of men take donations
WDSU News
By Jennifer Crockett
Dec 24, 2015

John said it’s better to donate to local homeless service centers, rather than drop off donations, where homeless men and women live. But the best help, he said, is simply giving a smile or taking a second to say hello.

NEW ORLEANS —Two weeks ago, WDSU met John, a homeless veteran living under the Pontchartrain Expressway. The Christmas tree he had bought and set up outside of his tent had been thrown away that morning by city sanitation workers.

The day after the first report aired, viewers stepped in and donated new trees, decorations, even gifts, including clothing and food. But those donations ended up turning John’s tree into a target, forcing him to seek shelter elsewhere.

“It was a very sad moment,” said John, describing what lead to his decision to move.

On Thursday, John said a group of five men swarmed his tree.

“I heard some commotion by the Christmas tree. A lady was there with her husband,” he said.

The couple dropped off about 20 packages, which were immediately stolen by the group of men.

“I don't even know what was in them. It's really sad,” he said.

All he could do was sit back and watch.
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Iraq Veteran Firefighter Crawled Past Flames to Save Yonkers Woman

Yonkers Firefighter, an Iraq War Veteran, Crawls Past Flames to Save Trapped Woman on Christmas
NBC New York

Yonkers Fire Lt. Danny Lee (inset top left) is being credited with saving a woman's life Christmas morning.

A Yonkers fire lieutenant crawled past heavy fire to rescue a woman trapped in the back bedroom of a flame-engulfed apartment on Christmas morning, according to the local department and union.

The Yonkers Uniformed Fire Officers Association said Lt. Danny Nee, a six-year members of the Yonkers Fire Department and an Iraq War veteran, responded to the eight-story apartment building on Bronx River Road after getting a call about smoke coming from a third-floor apartment around 10 a.m.

As they were en route, a woman called 911 in a panic, saying she was trapped in the bedroom, according to the union. The woman told the 911 operator heavy fire in the living room was blocking her way out and her bedroom had filled with smoke.

Nee and the other firefighters arrived minutes after being dispatched to the scene, and as crew members worked to stretch a hose to the burning apartment, Nee crawled into the burning building and made his way to the back bedroom.
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Christmas in Kabul, Troops Away from Home

Troops celebrate Christmas in Kabul with turkey, cake and stocking caps 
Stars and Stripes
By Heath Druzin
Published: December 25, 2015

A U.S. soldier at Christmas dinner Friday at Resolute support headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. HEATH DRUZIN/STARS AND STRIPES

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a sign of how long America has been at war, Navy Chief Tiffany Voels, 35, has to go way back to 2002 for her first of four Christmases downrange. Back then she was on a ship in support of operations in Afghanistan. “I knew I’d still be in the service in 2015, but I didn’t think I’d be in Afghanistan,” she said on Friday after sitting down to Christmas dinner at Resolute Support headquarters in Kabul. read more here

This "Santa" Started in Vietnam

The real Santa arrives
Sandusky Register
Michelle Pletcher
December 24, 2015

In 2014, Santa visited roughly 1,400 children. On average, he is apart 30-40 events during the holiday season. For most charity and community events, in typical Santa-fashion, he selflessly volunteers his time.

Some know him as Father Christmas. Others refer to him as Kris Kringle. In northern Ohio however, a new name has become synonymous with Jolly Old Saint Nick.

For the greater part five decades, Donald Meyer of Vickery has not only portrayed the white bearded legend, he has become the closest thing to the real Santa Claus the world has ever seen.

Born in Cleveland, Meyer aka Santa, had a relatively normal upbringing. Just barely into adulthood, life was forever changed in more way than one when he injured his pinky and ring fingers during his first tour as a soldier in Vietnam. It was there that he therapeutically began tinkering with toys and spreading joy to children.

“In order to keep [these fingers] working, my mom and dad sent me airplanes and bags of candy,” Santa said. “So as I was putting these airplanes together, before I would finish the skins, I would pack them full of candy. Then we would take and go on top of our compound, wind them all up and send them out to the Vietnamese kids.”

Christmas of 1970 was the first time Santa stepped into the iconic role that would dominate his life.

Upon completion of his second military tour, Santa returned home, where he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite being in his early 20s, stress slowly turned his facial hair white, but Santa found a way to use it to his advantage. His mother-in-law fashioned him a red suit and he began visiting with children.
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Wife of Marine Gets Wish for Christmas in Mall

Marine surprises wife in the middle of the Mall just in time for Christmas
ABC 15 News
Katie Johnson
Dec 23, 2015

WELLINGTON, FL - Lance Corporal Peter Allen has been planning for months to surprise his wife for Christmas.

Peter is in the Marines, and is stationed in California. His wife, Kellie, lives at home in Florida.

"I feel like every woman should get surprises like this honestly," Peter says.

On Wednesday, those plans played out in the middle of the Mall in Flofira.

Peter tipped off his family that he would be home for Christmas, but his wife Kellie didn't think she would see him until late January.

"It's a pretty good Christmas present. She wasn't expecting it. I feel like, she deserves it," he says.

On Wednesday, Kellie visited the mall with Peter's family to take pictures with Santa Claus.
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Welfare Check on WWII Veteran Opened Hearts of Police Officers

LA Police Officers Surprise Lonely WWII Veteran With Christmas Tree, Decor and Presents
ABC News
By Avianne Tann
Dec 22, 2015

They went back on Monday to check up on Perry and to deliver a few Christmas gifts -- clothes, slippers, crossword puzzles and cookies -- from some officers in the department, Nunez said.

Los Angeles Police Department officers surprised 94-year-old World War II veteran

Herman Perry with a Christmas tree, lights and presents on Dec. 21, 2015.

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers recently surprised a World War II veteran who was alone for the holidays with a Christmas tree, lights, presents and cheer.

Officers Able Torres and Natali Nunez first met 94-year-old Herman Perry last Friday when they responded to a call from Perry's neighbor Amy who was concerned for his welfare after she hadn't seen him in about a week, Nunez told ABC News today.

"Amy was aware he was recently released from a VA hospital due to an injury from a fall, so she was concerned when she hadn't heard from him as usual," Nunez said. "She tried calling, knocking on the apartment and getting touch with his niece over in Massachusetts, but no one had heard from him, so she was really concerned."

Nunez said she and Torres breathed a "heavy sigh of relief" when they entered his home and found Perry "sitting up wide-eyed and watching TV." It turned out that he hadn't been wearing his hearing aids and wasn't expecting any visitors since he had no nearby family and friends, she said.

The officer added that Perry was alone for the holidays and that his only family was on the other coast of the country.
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Christmas Truce During Vietnam War

A Christmas truce in Vietnam
The Guardian
Wednesday 8 December 1965

No war, or battle's sound/ Was heard the World around,/ The idle spear and shield were high up hung;/ The hooked chariot stood/ Unstain'd with hostile blood. The trumpet spake not to the armed throng.

Such was the first Christmas night, according to Milton. Now that bombs have replaced spears, and helicopters chariots, the Vietcong have taken on the role of the angels, and proclaimed, for twelve hours, peace on earth. It is easy to be cynical about the appeal, and no doubt in part justified. Obviously this is good propaganda, whether or not it is anything in addition.

The last armistice called by the Vietcong, for the Vietnamese festival of Tet in February, was scrupulously observed by them, but was followed immediately by the raids on US installations at Pleiku and elsewhere; and the war moved into a new and more terrible phase. Since then there has been no interruption in the killings ; all the more reason why the US leaders should respond like the shepherds, however dubious the angels.

The call is surely the sort of thing they should be watching for, to seize on. Critics of American policy are constantly being asked what they would do in President Johnson's place, and indeed, so much freedom of choice has been sacrificed over the past few years that there is no easy answer. He can, however, be urged, whenever a new choice does present itself, to take the more constructive course in preference to the more destructive.

If he cannot bring himself to suspend the bombing for an extended experimental period, he could at least contribute his half to a formal truce on Holy Night. That would not make negotiations more remote ; there is just a chance it might bring them nearer. Probably it would not. But some people would be alive on Christmas morning who would otherwise be dead, and that in itself would be justification enough.
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Washington Crossed the Delaware on Christmas Morning

1776
Washington crosses the Delaware
This Day In History

During the American Revolution, Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack came after several months of substantial defeats for Washington’s army that had resulted in the loss of New York City and other strategic points in the region.

At about 11 p.m. on Christmas, Washington’s army commenced its crossing of the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2,400 soldiers led by Washington successfully braved the icy and freezing river and reached the New Jersey side of the Delaware just before dawn. The other two divisions, made up of some 3,000 men and crucial artillery, failed to reach the meeting point at the appointed time.
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How to celebrate Christmas weekend like George Washington
Philly.com
Natalie Pompilio, For The Inquirer
December 25, 2015

Groups of soldiers in the snow at Washington Crossing Park in Bucks County

Everything you think you know about George Washington's leading his troops across the Delaware River on Christmas Day 1776? It's probably wrong, especially if you're basing your knowledge on a certain oil painting.

Those who want a more accurate depiction of that event can journey Saturday to Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, where more than 300 reenactors in appropriate colonial dress - including the good general himself - will re-create scenes from that night 239 years ago, crossing the river to New Jersey in replicas of the actual craft used by the Continental Army.

"It's a fun event, a great event, but it's also a very serious commemoration," said Joseph Capone, executive director of the Friends of Washington Crossing Park. "We don't want to forget the soldiers' sacrifices. We don't want to lose that history."

The crossing is one of multiple regional activities commemorating a period of 10 days as 1776 ended and 1777 began that helped turn the course of the Revolutionary War for Washington and his ragtag army.
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WWI Christmas Truce

The Christmas Truce (3 min) TV-PG
During WWI soldiers from opposing sides laid down their guns and celebrated Christmas together.
1914
WWI The Christmas Truce


Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in World War I cease firing their guns and artillery and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the eastern and western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.

At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. There was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer.
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Harpers Ferry's Civil War Christmas

Civil War
Joy in Sadness, Harpers Ferry's Civil War Christmas
West Virginia Public Radio
By LIZ MCCORMICK
DEC 23, 2015

Reenactors preparing goods to sell. LIZ MCCORMICK / WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Every year, dozens of people in Harpers Ferry go back in time. In the shops and at the national park, it's 1864 all over again. It's fun for locals and visitors to see how people in Victorian-era West Virginia celebrated Christmas. But it's also a reminder of how bittersweet it can be for people to try to find a bit of good cheer in the midst of a long and terrible war.

King’s colleague, Melinda Day, is out of her ranger uniform for this occasion. She's wearing a light green plaid dress, and her hair is pulled back in a low bun sort of like former First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln.

“Because this is a historical park and because we do have a rich Civil War history, we focus on the idea that Christmas and war coexist," Day said, "almost any visitor that walks into this park understands that someplace in this world, American service people are putting their lives on the line even though it may be Christmas, and when a visitor steps into this park for a Civil War Christmas, that’s the same story and relevance that resonates with them in modern times.”

Day says Harper’s Ferry was a strategic site in the war - it switched hands 14 times! And in late 1864, things were changing.

“The war’s coming to an end, and everybody feels that, and you can feel joy while you’re feeling pain. I think anybody that’s been through something like that could nod their head and say, yes I understand that, you can actually experience joy when you also experience pain,” she noted.
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Christmas Eve Midnight Mass During the Korean War

An unforgettable Christmas Eve midnight Mass during the Korean War
Stars and Stripes
By Carlos Bongioanni
Published: December 24, 2015

Celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace that night allowed Deptula and other GIs with him to forget, at least for an evening, the death and destruction of war that had already left an indelible mark on their souls.

Amid the horrors and devastation of war, a midnight Mass 65 years ago in a dilapidated church in Kyong-ju, South Korea, would prove to be a miracle of sorts for Army Pfc. Norman Deptula.

It was December 1950, six months into the Korean War. Deptula, then 21, was among the approximately 100,000 United Nations troops who had just been evacuated out of North Korea. He had been among the "Chosin Few" who had escaped intense battles against overwhelming Chinese forces in the Chosin Reservoir campaign.

In a telephone interview Wednesday from his home in Webster, Mass., Deptula, now 86, recalled how frightened he was after an estimated 300,000 Chinese crossed over the Yalu River into North Korea, intent on annihilating the U.N. forces.

“We were outnumbered. The odds were stacked against us,” Deptula said, adding that he didn’t expect to make it out alive.

When the Chinese invasion started that October, Deptula was in Koto-ri, a small village in the Chosin Reservoir area, assigned to the Army Signal Corps’ 581st Signal Radio Relay Company. “I wasn’t in the infantry, but I saw a hell of a lot of tragedies,” he said.

It was a brutally cold winter, making the war that much worse for the combatants, many of whom suffered frostbite and lost limbs.
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At Taegu, South Korea, Norman Deptula, left, stands with two soldiers from the 581st Signal Radio Relay Company after they had been evacuated out of North Korea. COURTESY OF NORMAN DEPTULA

A Christmas Story
By Norman J. Deptula
Published: December 24, 2015

"Home for Christmas" was the rallying cry as United Nations forces, spearheaded by American troops, were well on their way to clearing the entire Korean peninsula of Communist North Korean forces who had invaded South Korea in June, 1950. Then, in late November, in the dead of one of the coldest Korean winters on record, more than 300,000 troops from the Communist People's Republic of China poured across the Yalu River and entered the war bent on the annihilation of U.N. forces and the installation of a Communist dictatorship for all of Korea. Within a few short days all hopes for a joyous Christmas were dashed. General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of all U.N. forces in Korea, said, "We face an entirely new war ..."

Approximately 120,000 Chinese troops battered and besieged U.N. forces around the port city of Hungnam, in northeast Korea. When the U.N. command decided that the Hungnam area could not be held, a mass sea evacuation of troops, equipment and about 98,000 refugees began in mid-December.
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Warmly Wish Whiners Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

An associate was worried this week about wishing someone "Merry Christmas" so I had a few things to say about how some folks are offended by being wished good thoughts. After all, it isn't wishing them anything other than they have a good Christmas.

"Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870" but after all these years, some people just don't get it.

They complain! They are offended by seeing Christmas displays, even those without religious

"Article the third... Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

This part keeps getting forgotten "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" because some only care about what they can complain about.

How did this nation established for freedom become a nation of whiners assuming they have the power to "prohibit" what the Bill of Rights never gave them? How did we end up being told we cannot say what we want?

It seems the VA didn't get the memo and must be showing up for work on the 25th.  Someone complained about Christmas decorations so someone else took them down.  Guess it didn't matter how many people enjoyed seeing them.

It also seems that a Professor doesn't seem to understand this date either.

A professor at the University of Central Florida thinks the safest way to greet other people during the Christmas season is to wish them a “Happy Federal Holiday.” This bright idea belongs to Terri Fine, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida
Happy Federal what? Because the U.S. government in some cases and the state government in others have identified certain days during the year as state and federal holidays, including those that fall during the late fall and winter season – Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day –we have no choice but to observe these holidays whether we want to or not.

Seriously? Well, she can't exactly show up for work if UCF is closed, then again, why would she want to if she gets paid for not working? She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to on December 25. No one does. No one has to do, hear or say anything they don't want to.

Hear Christmas music on the radio and don't like it, then change the station. Don't want to watch a program on TV, change the channel. If you don't want anything tied to Christmas, that is your choice, but that does not allow you to remove the rights of others to enjoy a day the way they want to.

Full Definition of holiday
: a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically
: a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event

Simple Definition of holy day
: a day when a religious festival or holiday is observed

I am Easter Orthodox (Greek) and our tradition is,

Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

The real day Jesus was born is not known but then again, there are some Christians not acknowledging Christmas at all.

Christian sects and communities that reject the observance of Christmas for theological reasons include Jehovah's Witnesses; some adherents of Messianic Judaism; most Sabbatarian denominations, such as the True Jesus Church and the Church of God (7th-Day); the Iglesia ni Cristo; the Christian Congregation in Brazil; the Christian Congregation in the United States; and certain reformed and fundamentalist churches of various persuasions, including some Independent Baptist, Holiness, Apostolic Pentecostal, and Churches of Christ congregations

No one is forced to do anything when it comes to Christmas. They are not forced to stay home or go to a family dinner or even buy gifts for someone else. They are not forced to give to charities or volunteer their time with the homeless. They are not forced to go to parties or wear an ugly Christmas sweater. They don't have to decorate their property and when it comes to the neighbors doing it, it is their right to do it.

If you are offended by someone wishing you something good or wanting to do something nice for you, then you have bigger issues and should seek professional help. How does it harm you to let others enjoy it their way while you have the right to spend the day anyway you want to?

SO FROM ME TO YOU, I WARMLY WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Three Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Grinch Stole Christmas

But just like the real Grinch, this story has a great twist!

Neighbors restore Christmas after military veteran family is robbed
FOX 5 News
December 22, 2015


SPRING, Texas - Just days before Christmas, a Grinch stole the holiday spirit away from a Houston area military family.

While former Marine Joshua Beaver and his family were out to diner, a thief broke in their house and took their TV, electronics and every gift under their tree.

After serving three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, the wounded veteran never expected his own countrymen to cause him such pain. “It's been a struggle… And to be robbed at Christmas is hard,” Beaver said.

“I gave everything I could to this country.” Said Beaver, adding “For bleeding in Iraq and all those tours I did, it’s hard to come home and feel like your own countrymen stole from you.”
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Girls Get Christmas Wish, Soldier Dads Came Home

Santa helps soldier surprise children
KSLA News
Cheryl Mercedes
Posted: Dec 18, 2015

DENHAM SPRINGS, LA (WAFB)

Christmas came early for three girls in Livingston Parish. When they visited Santa at The Bass Pro Shop in Denham Springs, they got a big surprise.

The wonder of getting to meet the jolly old guy in the big red suit is an experience most children look forward to all year. Some of them don't know what to think of Santa Claus. Others know exactly what do to.

Kayelynn Hutchinson, 8, could not wait her turn.

Her mother Susan told Kayelynn and her sisters last week they would be making the trip to see Santa, But their dad, Private First Class Christopher Hutchinson, would not be there. He left home early in November to attend basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

"It's been very mentally draining, emotionally draining being without them," PFC Hutchinson said.
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Kansas City soldier returns home, surprises children
KSHB News
Tom Dempsey
Dec 18, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For the Fleming sisters, Christmas was expected to be tough this year.

Their father, Major Paul Fleming of the U.S. Army, told them he would not make it home this year since he was serving overseas in South Korea.

The girls told their father they would wait for him to come home before they opened their presents.

One of the girls, six-year-old Riley Fleming, wished for a Furby this year for Christmas. But most of all, the girls wanted a chance to see their father.
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Soldier surprises daughter at elementary school sing-a-long
KETV 7 News
Dec 18, 2015

OMAHA, Neb. —An elementary student received an early gift Friday.

Second-grader Riley got her holiday letter to Santa answered during a special school sing-a-long.

Riley knew her dad, a specialist in the Nebraska Army National Guard, would be home soon, but didn't think he would show up at Black Elk Elementary School.

"I wish he was home for Christmas, that's what I wanted for for Christmas...," Riley said.
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