One can clearly tell Christmas is getting nearer.
Not only are the days getting shorter, the nights colder and the children growing restless, but also our service men and women are jumping into action as they always do around this glorious time of the year.
Here is a member of the 144th Fighter Wing at an event for members of the deaf community in Fresno, Calif. Air National Guard photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. Charles Vaughn.
Here you see an Air Force first sergeant helping a parent choose a tricycle during the annual toy drive at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The drive collected about 2,000 toys for military families in need of assistance during the holidays. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.
At Fort Drum, N.Y., soldiers unload a shipment of Christmas trees at as part of the “Trees for Troops” program. Army photo by Spc. Liane Schmersahl
At Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., a soldier helping with a toy drive salutes during a base retreat ceremony, Dec. 1, 2016. Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.
On the other side of the globe (below), military and civilian leaders push a box onto a C-130 Hercules during the 2016 Operation Christmas Drop “push ceremony” at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, where the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian Air Force and U.S. Air Force personnel continue the tradition of air dropping tools, food, clothing and toys throughout the Pacific.United States Air Force photo Airman 1st Class Jacob Skovo.
Air Force Airman 1st Alejandra Vargas, a C-130 Hercules loadmaster, pushes one of those bundles out of a C-130 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Delano Scott.
Back in the U.S. each October the U.S. Marine Corps kicks off its now-famous annual “Toys for Tots” mission, collecting as many new, unwrapped toys as possible in order to distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.
This famous file photo (above) by Cpl. Caleb T. Gomez was taken in Times Square on a cold December day in 2011. The flickr.com caption says it all:
Gomez said, “It was freezing cold all day, but our Marines were still out in the community collecting as many toys as possible for the Toys for Tots drive.” Countless people were donating toys, but when a little girl walked up with her mom, it caught Gomez’s attention. Most of the children would just walk up, drop their toy in the box and then leave. When she approached a lieutenant colonel and he dropped to her level to talk with her, Gomez knew he had to get the shot. “I really hope this photo will remind people that the holidays are special time to give to others,” Gomez said. “My favorite thing about it is that it shows that Marines don’t just do war; they are out there giving back to the community in so many different ways on a daily basis.”
The Commander in Chief and First Lady have participated in Toys for Tots every year since the president took office in 2009.
Below, at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, First Lady Michele Obama is seen sorting toys for under-privileged children across the country. She told the children, “No matter what anybody says, we are all in this country together. You all belong here. And that’s true not just during the holidays, but every single day of the year, [and] that’s what I’ve seen all across the country these past eight years as first lady.”
First Lady Michelle Obama helps Lauren Gordon, 9, figure out where to put a toy during the Toys for Tots event at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 2016. DoD photo by Scott Pauley
Toys for Tots prides itself on the percentage of donations it’s able to give back to the community. According to the organization’s website, 3% of donated funds go to fundraising expenses, while 97% help to provide toys, books, and other gifts to children in need.
For more information on how you can donate click here.
Below is a video of the First Lady welcoming military families to the White House to view the 2016 holiday decorations
We saw and heard the Air Force Band kicking off the holiday season with their surprising and delightful holiday-themed “flash mob.”
Finally, as they have done every year for 60 years, the folks at the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) will track Santa’s flight.
The story goes that, in 1955, a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and the tradition was born.
Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, NORAD now tracks Santa using the internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.
And, once again this Christmas, NORAD is ready to track, escort and assist Santa as he makes his way to North American homes and to children throughout the world with a sleigh loaded with gifts for all those who have been good…
Watch the video below.
Please go to the NORAD Santa web site for more information on Santa’s preparations travel plans.
Merry Christmas and Joyous Holiday Season wishes to all TMV authors and readers from this aging, retired military grouch — but not quite a Grinch yet.
CODA: The lead photo, one I use almost every year, is of our soldiers praying during a candlelight prayer service in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, while in combat there several years ago, in celebration of Christmas.
We will once more have our soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors in harm’s way this Christmas — and we must not forget.
