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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Fort Hood Hug Lady Passed Away on Christmas Eve

Fort Hood’s Beloved "Hug Lady" Dies On Christmas Eve
KWTX News
December 24, 2015

KILLEEN (December 24, 2015) Fort Hood’s beloved “Hug Lady,” Elizabeth Laird, who hugged hundreds of thousands soldiers as they headed out on or returned from deployments, died on Christmas Eve at Metroplex Hospital in Killeen.

Funeral arrangements were pending Thursday at Crawford Bowers Funeral Home.

Laird, who would have turned 84 next month, vowed to greet every Fort Hood soldier who returned from deployment with a hug, battled breast cancer for 10 years.

The GoFundMe account, which had a goal of $10,000, generated nearly $95,000 from more than 3,000 people over the course of just one month.

Many were soldiers, such as the staff sergeant, who wrote, “I deployed three times and this nice woman greeted me each time. I looked forward to those hugs lol. Get well soon mama.”

But others were not, including a woman whose son didn’t come home.

“Thank you for hugging my son Matt,” she wrote.

“It is more than likely the last hug he got when he left Fort Hood because he didn't return from Afghanistan. Thank you again and please get well!”
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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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