Christmas Away from Home

It was Christmas Eve, 1966, and we were on an operation at a small place called Khe Sanh. A ceasefire was in effect, offering a rare sense of relative safety. We lived in foxholes and shelter halves, the comforts of home far out of reach.

We had nothing to represent the Christmas Season, but one of the guys had received a 4-track tape recorder from home. The catch? He only had one tape, a collection of songs by The Righteous Brothers, not a single Christmas carol on it.

He turned the volume up late that night, and their soulful voices filled the night air. We listened to:

• Unchained Melody

  
  

• You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’

  
  

• (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration

  
  

• Ebb Tide

  
  

• Georgia on My Mind

  
  

...and a few others, over and over again.

You may not be familiar with these songs, but they are sad songs about love and relationships. Hidden tears flowed like streams, and no one talked.

That Christmas Eve, thousands of miles from home, those songs became the soundtrack of our lives, a bittersweet reminder of where we were and the lives we’d left behind. It was my first Christmas away, and my mind was filled with thoughts of my family celebrating back home, mixed with concern for me being so far away.

Memories of past Christmases came flooding back—the fun, the laughter, the warmth of being together. I felt a deep sadness, but I didn’t want my family to feel the same.

Mom and Dad relied on Walter Cronkite’s news reports about the war, adding to their unease. Not knowing when to worry meant they worried all the time.

Today, many servicemen and women are away from home on this special day. These are the folks ensuring the safety and protection of this great nation.

Many of their loved ones think of them with hopeful thoughts of their joy and safety, so reaching out to families with a loved one in the service would be honorable. Reaching out to any serviceman or woman would be a true gift to them.

How about you? Are there people you could reach out to this special Christmas but haven’t yet?

Watch for the blind spots.

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