On December 13, 2007 I departed, by myself, from Dallas Texas, which would start the beginning of my International “Books for the Troops Tour”. On December 12th, the day before I left I had a book signing at DFW Airport where I autographed and personalized 150 books for our troops deploying to Iraq. Random House, my publisher, has donated 3,504 of my books (3rd Battalion, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, my old outfit). Which I will be signing and personalizing and giving to our soldiers at various bases in various counties.
My plane was met in Amsterdam, Holland by my friend Alex, President of the Market Garden Commemorative Committee, who accompanied me in 2006 to Afghanistan and would accompany me once again on this trip. Our first stop was in Schinnen Garrison, which turned out to be an exciting event, and well received by the troops. On December 19th we left for Afghanistan on a Royal Dutch Air Force DC 10 landing in Kandahar. Once in country I meet with and signed books for our young soldiers at five different locations: Kandahar, Bagram, Kabul, FOB (forward operation base) Salerno and Jalalabad. The response everywhere was heartwarming and at times overwhelming. The distance and the time involved in getting there for Christmas were well worth the effort.
War observes no one’s holidays for any of the combatants regardless of notations on the calendar. Christmas like any other observed holiday was like any other for our troops in Afghanistan with respect to their mission of stopping the advance of Muslim extremists.
Yet Christmas does have special meaning for our troops in a distant land in a foreign environment where Christmas is not observed. It is a time of reflection remembering Christmases past, our families and loved ones. Above all, a longing to be with them but duty to country calls them elsewhere.
I recall my three Christmases overseas in WW II, the mountains of Italy 1943; Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge 1944 and Germany 1945.
“Christmas Eve night was calm, cold and serene. The battlefield had been relatively quiet that day—no patrols, no enemy contact—but the normal amount of artillery fire had been coming in and going out passing over our heads. Back in the valley the support troops were attending church services. In between the crackling of shells over our heads, we could hear the Christmas carolers. The strains of “Silent Night” were echoing through the valley and drifting to the mountaintops. As I strained to hear the voices, between artillery shells, I clearly recognized the carols “Silent Night” and “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful”. They left me with an empty and eerie feeling. Christmas services were behind us proclaiming the birth of the Savior, and Germans were in front of us; like us, they had one purpose—kill their fellow man, the enemy in front of them”—Mt Sammucro, Italy, 1943 “All The Way to Berlin”.
Afghanistan 2007 was my fourth Christmas with the 82d Airborne Division in a combat zone, albeit 62 years later. I distinctly remember those Christmases as will our troops in Afghanistan will long remember this and other Christmases in the service of our country in foreign lands.
Christmas, however, did not go unobserved by our troops. The dining facilities and offices were well decorated in the same way Christmases are observed everywhere by Christians.
Having Christmas dinner with the troops in the field was something special. It was a fulfilling experience for me and from the reaction from our troops, for them as well. Spending Christmas with someone they could identify with from WW II was appreciated.
The highlights of my visit included flying with General David Rodriguez, 82d Airborne Division Commander and Command Sergeant Major Thomas Capel on Christmas Day to visit the troops at FOB Salerno and Jalalabad and the dinner with General Dan McNeil, Multinational Task Force Commander and General Officers from Allied Countries in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
The Allied forces have made visible, measurable progress since my first visit to Afghanistan 24 months ago. The Afghanistan forces have greatly improved and are increasingly involved in actions against the insurgents. However, the Taliban remains a force to be reckoned with and in some areas, particularly South of Kandahar, have actually gained strength.
A number of our troops serving in Afghanistan are in their third or fourth tours with the possibility of more in the future. Unlike WW II where we served for the “duration”, our troops in the war against terror are in “for the duration, one tour at a time.
Although this was my second trip to Afghanistan like the previous one almost two years ago I found the same determination, motivation and dedication to getting the job done. At every occasion I expressed the gratitude of the American people and how proud we are of our young men and women answering the call to preserve the values we hold dear. I noted, they are the “best of their generation”.
I carried out a busy schedule autographing copies of my book, “All The Way to Berlin” donated by Random House, meeting flight schedules and making over 20 speeches. On December 30th I started my return trip back to Dallas. I flew with five different planes on five different airlines, three military a Canadian C-130, a British C-130 and a Royal Dutch DC 10. The two commercial airlines were the British Airways to London and American Airlines to Dallas. The total time for the trip including cancellations, layovers and delays took three days, but it did not detract from the success of the trip and I was happy for the opportunity to go.
