Post Scripts: Merry Christmas

Knowing how many families are split this Christmas season reminded me of when I spent five months in Korea in 1951 when I got called back into service. I was in the inactive reserves following World War II and those were the reservists they called back first during the Korean War. That is the Christmas I had to spend away from my family and I wrote the following letter to my daughters.

Dear Kathy Ann and Cindy:

I won’t write a very long letter tonight because this one comes hard – it isn’t easy to write your loved ones a letter on Christmas Eve. There isn’t anywhere in the world I’d rather be tonight than with you and Mommie awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. Long before you get this letter he will have arrived and left you and the other good little boys and girls lots of pretty things to wear and toys to play with.

Daddy has to be away this Christmas, not because he wants to, but because there are evil forces in the world who would like to take Christmas away. They would prefer to keep us from Sunday School, too, and abolish about Jesus in the manger. I will be heading home soon but there will be others who will not get to come home yet, if at all, and I have a funny feeling about leaving the job here uncompleted.

We had a bit of Christmas here. Today we invited about 40 Korean orphans whose parents were taken from them by the agonies of war. We brought them to our camp and gave them milk, cake and some toys and candy. Believe it or not Santa visited them, too, trying to bring a little happiness to those innocent boys and girls who have so little to be happy about this Christmas. My heart ached when I saw little girls just your size, and how they brought back memories of my precious Kathy Ann and Cindy. Although their skin isn’t quite the same tone, they are mighty cute and they behaved just as you would have done had you been here.

Some of the little ones cried when they saw Santa just like Cindy does – but others talked right up to him and even gave St. Nick a graceful bow after receiving their gift. I know they had a fine time at our party which included a Christmas tree and music supplied by a GI band.

Now it is calm and bright, I can close my eyes and see old Santa just getting to our house and leaving your gifts under our tree. I’m sure he left many nice things because Mommie always sees to it that Santa doesn’t forget a thing. I do hope he included the robe and pajama set that I told him to bring you from Korea and I hope you like them. I sure wish I was home tonight so I could be there when you awaken in the morning and rush to the tree.

It won’t be long until I can come home and I hope that this is the last Christmas I shall ever be away. I am counting on you being good little helpers to Mother who also misses me very much. You will never know how much I miss her, too.

Kathy Ann, Daddy hopes you are being good in school and getting your work. You must always be neat and sweet and always wear a smile for your teacher. I am counting on you to set an example for Cindy who seems to want to do everything her big sister does.

I must close for tonight, but tomorrow when I wake up I will be one day closer to home. I make a mark on the calendar each morning, striking off each day with great enthusiasm and delight. Before you know it, I’ll be at the front door and we’ll have a big time playing like we used to. I am really looking forward to seeing how you have grown.

Mommie, of course, knows how much I miss her and how much I’d like to be there to share Christmas. Daddy thinks of you each waking moment and I know God must be watching over all of us. It’s not so nice to be lonely and separated as we are, but it’s nice to have such a fine family and a love that reaches across the ocean and the mountains and keeps us together through this awful period we must be separated. All my love, Daddy. And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers.