S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

524th Holiday

Party

Hannibal 5

Holiday

Messages

Saint Joseph’s

Chaplain’s Notes

Christmas Truce

of 1914

At this time of year it is time to pause

and thank the many people,

Family and friends who have

made Task Force Hannibal and

our current mission a

success. May your lives be

filled with peace, love and joy

this holiday season

From the Commander

Family and Friends of Task Force Hannibal, we hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season to date. The Warri-ors of Task Force Hannibal continue to press forward with great fo-cus and effect. I could not be more proud of our team. I would also like to express my gratefulness to all the family members back home who con-tinue to Make A Way by working, taking care of families, support-ing others and supporting their Soldiers here while deployed. It is the families that make this all possible and I want to personally thank you all for your support and sacrifice. Christmas ended yesterday for us and Kwanzaa began today, as I am typing this letter. The holidays have come quickly and you can feel the excitement starting to build as we move ever closer to our homecoming. I trust that everyone got the opportunity to Skype, Facetime, or call home yesterday. I was able to Skype with my family and having the opportunity to watch pixilated blobs, with my wife's and kids' voices open gifts and enjoy Christmas morning was much appreciated. I hope your connection was better! :-) Still, it was amazing to be home, in a way, during this wonderful time of year. Many Soldiers participated in HHC's Holiday Party yesterday. Fes-tivities included Pizza Hut pizza, chips, drinks, games, music and a gift exchange. We also had some special guests show up as A Det, 125th Finance arrived to Camp Marmal on Christmas Eve. The great Soldiers of the 125th are getting settled in and are executing their Relief in Place. It was really good to see some friendly faces and we look forward to partnering with our fellow Schofield warri-ors during the balance of our deployment. Thank you all again. Please continue to look out for each other and have a safe and happy holiday season. Hannibal 6

Message from the CSM

Greetings all; Another Christmas has come and gone placing us past another bench-mark closer to redeployment. Across our formation senior leaders per-formed guard duty, headcount, and other duties normally performed by junior soldiers and leaders. Our Sol-diers were given a few extra hours of downtime to communicate with Fam-ily and loved ones back home. Sol-diers were able to watch Family and friends open gifts and spend time at the dinner table through various forms of media. HHC hosted their holiday party with our Family down-range and took a few hours to play cards, board games and show appre-ciation for one another. This month SSG Jennifer Colon was presented a medallion, certificate of achievement and Army Commenda-tion Medal at the Combined Joint Task Force 101, SGT Audie Murphy Induction Ceremony. PFC Cristian Valencia was selected as the battal-ion Soldier of the Month. He will join other winners from this quarter and compete in the battalion quarter board for the opportunity to repre-sent the battalion at the next brigade board.

Task Force Hannibal units con-tinue to perform life support function on Camps Marmal and John Pratt for thousands of coa-lition Soldiers, contractors and department of defense civilians. Our units in-gate thousands of gallons of fuel daily, man secu-rity positions and provide dining facility support. These tasks take place day in and day out, do not go unnoticed, and are highly appreciated. Additionally, we continue to provide seam-less sustainment and retrograde support to Regional Command – North on a daily basis. Thank you for the continuous family support in the rear. I hope you all had a wonderful Christ-mas and we can’t wait to see you in person. The rear detach-ment command team continues to provide us and our Family’s seamless support, thank you for all you do. Hannibal 7 “Make a Way”

Soldiers from the 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion spent Christmas far

from their families and thousands of miles from the sunshine and beaches of Hawaii. They celebrated Christmas in their own way Wednesday afternoon with games, pizza and the company of each other. That evening Soldiers from the U.S., Germany, Nor-way and a multitude of other nationalities packed a dining hall at Camp Marmal for a traditional Christ-mas meal. Meals were served to the troops by the commanders and leadership from across Camp Marmal, a symbol of appreciation and an opportunity for DFAC workers to get some time off and participate in the day’s festivities. The general atmosphere across the base could be felt by all; a spirit celebration and holiday cheer mixed with missing family, friends, the lights and tinsel of this holiday season. "I wish I could be home with my family and friends, but, I mean, I am surrounded by nothing but awesome people, so it is good," SGT Erika Carranza said. Soldiers and service members with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) gathered throughout the day for a variety of services highlighted by the

rare opportunity to watch the Norwegian Armed Forces Band per-form Christmas evening. Task Force Hannibal’s own Chaplain Mastin was chosen for the honor of performing mid-night mass, at-tended by every nationality across Camp Marmal. Soldiers cele-brated this time of peace by singing carols and lighting candles. For some of the Soldiers from the 524

th CSSB, this is hardly the

first Christmas away from home. But it should be one of the last, with the 2014 drawdown of US and NATO forces just months away. Soldiers in the midst of their 2

nd, 3

rd, and 4

th deployments have de-

veloped methods of remaining in contact and in touch with family back home. As Task Force Hannibal begins

preparing for their redeploy-ment, the entire battalion would like to pause and wish everyone back in Hawaii a Happy Holidays!

Soldiers, Family and Friends of HHC, 524

TH

CSSB: Happy New Year!!

Soldiers, Family and Friends of HHC 524th CSSB I hope and pray the Holiday Season upon us

has and will treat you well. It is tough on everyone to go through significant events, such as the

Holidays without the comforts of home. It is my wish we transition through these next few

weeks with a watchful eye looking out for each other. For those experiencing their first Holiday

separated from loved ones, do not hesitate to seek out those individuals who have been through

this before. It may not change the way you feel, however, they may be able to provide insight on

how they have dealt with it, or are dealing with it this time around. Your warriors continue to do

an outstanding job here on Camp Marmal. As I walk around, and talk to the Soldiers every day. I

am starting to see their eyes sparkle once again as we start prepping to bring this deployment to

an end. Although our time is winding down, I still have to enforce discipline, standards, and

physical fitness so we don’t get to complacent. This Month we had two Warriors win the NCO/

SOM board. SGT George from the S-1 section won the NCO of the month, and PFC Valencia

from the S-4 section won the Soldier of the month board. The Soldiers of HHC continue to strive

for excellence and I am sure you are just as proud of them as I am. As you are reading this news

letter we are all aware of little over two and a half months before we will all be reunited again

and we can’t wait as I am sure you all feel the same.

Once again, Happy Holidays, and keep in mind, every day we are one day closer to returning

home.

SFC David E. Briggs, HHC, 524th CSSB First Sergeant

Straight from the Top!

As December comes to a close, I am able to reflect with great admiration and a complete sense of accomplishment the successes, per-sonal and professional development that each Soldier has achieved over the past 6 months. The professionalism and expertise of the Soldiers of HHC has been noticed at every level of command here in Af-ghanistan. The SPO Transportation section has set the example for the rest of the country in exceeding their directed goals. The 524

th CSSB is essentially setting the bar

for the rest of the Army in executing one of the largest logistics missions in the history of warfare, the retrograde of equipment out of the country. The SPO S+S, Maintenance and Plans sections all continue to contribute to the success that the entire Coalition is reaping in Regional Command-North. The Warriors of HHC spend countless hours plan-ning and executing their various assigned missions thanks in large part to the support they receive from their families back home in Hawaii or wherever you may be. I encour-age you to continue to support your loved ones as we move through the holidays and close out our deployment. Enjoy the holidays, we will ensure that pictures are sent back of the Soldiers doing the same here. CPT Smith Warrior-6

Warrior 6

I cannot express the gratitude I have for the exceptional job the Soldiers of Task Force Hannibal have done over the past seven months. As the XO, I have been fortunate to watch the team come together and work as a cohesive unit. I am not going to lie…it has not been easy. When I assumed duties as the Battalion XO last March, I told every leader on the staff that I really wasn’t worried whether or not they believed at the time that the battalion was the best CSSB in the Army, but it was very important to me that they wanted it to be best. Af-ter almost 10 months in the job, I believe that they truly want it to be and they are executing in that direction.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with many young, driven leaders while assigned to the 524 CSSB. As I transitioned from the SPO to the XO prior to the deployment, we set a new team in the primary staff, and MAJ Lankford and I committed ourselves to working together to not only execute the mission, but also to train, coach, mentor and guide the staff to support the Commander and ensure the Primary Staff and SPO section met the Commander’s intent. I know we both share in the pride of the entire staff’s ability to adjust to the challenging environments here in Afghanistan and achieve tremendous results. I believe that in order to succeed in the Army, there is one imperative: you have to care. You have to care about the mission, and you have to deeply care about the success and well-being of the Soldiers you serve and serve with. I am grateful for the team we assem-bled and pride myself with the outstanding growth we have made as a team. From the XO’s perspective, I am blessed with exceptional officers in CPT Jerry Garner, CPT Tim Wilson, CPT Jimmy Quilon, 1LT(P) Joann Marquez, CPT Frank Guizar, and the infamous CPT (Chaplain) Mark Mastin. As a CSSB staff, they have collectively worked together (not always peacefully) like a family to get the job done. As the S-3, CPT Quilon has led a section comprised of two outstanding battle captains in Katie Hogan and David Perez, as well as superb NCOs, led by SFC Blas Devora. They have managed the daily operations and ensured the safety and survivability of our Soldiers on a daily basis. CPT Quilon and SFC Devora have built a team by providing exceptional leadership through demanding expectations and constant communication. They truly have embraced my constant harping on “who else needs to know?” and have set the tone for the entire staff when it comes for maintaining drive and tempo. The performance of the S-3 section gets better every day due to the leadership of SSG Abrazado, SFC Smith and SFC Trammel, as they enforce standards, keep the command team informed and ensure the operations remain fully functional. The S-1 section, though the most junior group of primary staff NCOs and Soldiers I have worked with in almost 16 years, have been my unsung heroes for this deployment. CPT Garner has established himself as a caring, devoted leader who I trust to do the right thing every time. His leadership has rubbed off on his section, as SGT George and he lead a team that always excels. The section has literally accomplished every given task, prior to any suspense and is always seeking ways to get better. Whether PFC Rosas is conducting mail room operations, SGT Carranza is updating personnel records or SGT George is finalizing the status reports, the S-1 team always goes the extra mile to ensure every Soldier in the formation is taken care of. CPT Garner is also responsible for this newsletter, which I think all would agree is a mark of his true professionalism and commitment to the Soldiers and our families.

The S-2 section is the section which has grown the most professionally during the deployment. They have formed a team of bonafide intelligence analysts, some of which are working outside of their military occupational specialty. Led by CPT Tim Wilson and SSG Jennifer Colon, they transitioned from a section that had a minimal role in garrison, to one of the most important sections, not only in the battalion, but in the brigade. Whether it is SPC Vega conducting interviews with local drivers, SPC Lawson (who is a Laundry and Bath Specialist) providing detailed intelligence briefs and manag-ing interpreters, SPC Almero briefing at the Commander’s Update, or SSG Colon providing Electronic Warfare Assis-tance, they are operating on all cylinders and having a direct impact on mission success, while keeping our Soldiers safe and the commander informed. The S-4 section has also performed remarkably under the aggressive leadership of 1LT(P) Joann Marquez and SFC Taneisha Pennant. This tandem has driven the internal reduction of equipment and containers, which has had a tremen-dous impact on the battalion’s mission success. They have tremendous talent in SGT Blair and PFC Valencia, who have grown technically and tactically through- out this deployment. Though the section is small, the S-4’s impact has been huge. Currently, SFC Pennant is the S-4 and continues to excel; 1LT(P) Marquez re- cently re-deployed, as she was hand-picked by the Battalion Commander to execute the daunting task of receiving the unit as the Rear Detachment Com- mander. The S-6 has truly set a new standard for CSSB S-6s in RC-N. They have identi-fied a multitude of issues, starting the first day we arrived, and they have never wa-vered from their commitment to improving the communications infrastructure every single day. Led by CPT Frank Guizar and SFC Tyrrone Greene, the team has truly become experts on tactical communications, an achievement they can only accomplish in com- bat. While they have re-deployed multi-ple Soldiers for personal rea- sons, the S-6 section continues to provide steadfast support to the battal- ion. Whether it is help desk operations executed by SGT Santiago and SPCs Shantia and Nakia Williams, or SASMO support from CW2 Darren Duncan (whose positive leader-ship is absolutely contagious), the S-6 section remains on target to leave a legacy as the most fore thinking S-6 sec- tion in at least five years in RC-N. The Religious Support Team is the most travelled section in the entire battalion, despite being comprised of only two personnel. Chaplain Mark Mastin and SPC Joshua Wellman continue to provide religious support, not only to the battalion, but to every single unit in RC-N. The care and devotion of Chaplain Mastin has truly established him as one of the most influen- tial battalion-level officers in the entire regional com-mand. The RST travels via air or ground to some of the most dangerous areas in northern Afghanistan to coun- sel and care for Soldiers and civilians, always offering a caring ear and providing coun- sel to those in need. While this is primarily about the primary and special staff, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the incredible job being performed by MAJ John Lankford, MSG Armstrong and the Support Operations section. The SPO has truly been the center of gravity for mission success of Task Force Hannibal, enabling the successful drawdown of operations in the North. MAJ Lankford’s drive has resulted in a fast moving, responsive section that is sought after from external agen-cies for logistics support. In fact, they have developed procedures that have been adopted by other regional commands as the “right way” to do it. I want to acknowledge the command teams of both the battalion and the company. The care and passion that LTC Droppleman and CSM Torres bring to the fight every day has set an example for all of us to follow. There is no doubt in my mind that I could not work for, or with, better leaders or better people. The HHC team of CPT Brian Smith and 1SG David Briggs takes the same passion and ensures that the Soldiers are treated with dignity and respect, while enforcing standards and accountability. Being a Commander and 1SG in a deployed environment is never easy, and decisions are not always popular, but Warrior 6 and 7 have earned my trust and confidence, and I know they always have the lives and welfare of all the Warriors of the HHC as their number one priority. Finally, I cannot thank our families and friends enough for the incredible support throughout this deployment. We have received boxes and letters from schools, support organizations, children and families that truly mean the world to each of us. While we all choose to serve, I am humbled by the love and support you have shown the Task Force Hannibal team. I wish you all a Happy Holiday season and a safe New Year. We look forward to the doors opening at Wheeler Army Airfield in a few months and reuniting with all of you. Make a Way! MAJ Donahue ‘Hannibal 5’

Task Force Hannibal sends out a heartfelt thank you to the faculty, parents and especially students of the Saint Joseph’s School of Bronxville, New York. It is always amazing to see the out-pouring of support that communi-ties provide our great Soldiers, but this pro-ject was truly exceptional. Spearheaded by a long-time friend of the TF Hannibal XO, Mrs. Julie Nowak, the Saint Joseph’s community mobilized like Soldiers and supported a cause that gave them as much pride and en-joyment as it did our soldiers when we all re-ceived a package in the mail. Below is an excerpt from an e-mail sent from Mrs. Nowak to the XO, which describes the process, as well as clearly displayed the spirited pride that everyone involved had in the project:

I am thrilled the packages made it....and so

quickly! There should be 85 total boxes, 68

to individual soldiers and then the rest to you. You need to be the

grocery store! I have been keeping it all a surprise and I am so ex-

cited to finally tell you how we did it! The planning process all started

in August with the approval of the school and the Mothers Club

Board of which I am a member of. In September I formed my team of

5 mothers and one faculty member to help with the project and the

planning began! In October, our whole school of 237 students-

grades K-8, started collecting the items to go in the boxes. Families

were very generous. To raise money for the shipping, our 5th grad-

ers, had two bake sales during school hours that raised $400. Then

we had a "Dress Down Day"(kids wear uniforms on a daily ba-

sis) and the kids donated money for shipping again and that

one day they made $626! Later in the month of October, we

put it in the church bulletin for 3 Sundays and received $300

and items for the boxes from our parishioners. In November,

K-4 graders made the bookmarks in their classrooms and

grades 6-8 wrote the letters to each of you. On returning from

Thanksgiving, the 7th & 8th graders spent two mornings pack-

ing the boxes. Once the boxes were packed we brought them

down to our gym for a school wide picture with our Pastor-Fr.

Peter, Our principal-Mrs. McGoldrick and Mrs. Marricco-

teacher who was on our committee. I thanked the kids for all

they did and Fr. Peter (former Naval Academy Chaplain!)

thanked the kids and blessed the boxes.

P A G E 1 0

Two cars were packed up and that afternoon off we went to post office! While at the post office my kids and my girlfriends kids were unloading the cars, a man fol-lowed the kids into post office. He came up to me and asked if I was in charge of this project. He knew exactly what the boxes were for, he spent two deployments in Iraq. With tears in his eyes, he thanked us and wanted us to know what this will do for troop morale! He made our day. We spent two hours at the post office with

many people asking where the packages were going. It made a lot of people smile. I even had a UPS guy come in, saw what we were do-ing and stayed for 45 minutes to help process the boxes!!!! A lot of Christmas spirit was felt in that post office for you all! I can't tell you enough how wonderful this project was on our end. This is what it is all about. We hope and pray that it brings you all some comfort to know we appreciate and honor all that you do…So, that is the story of St. Joseph School's Troop Project.

On behalf of all the Soldiers of Task Force Hannibal, we thank every-

one involved in this project. The students are a true symbol of the

greatness of America’s future. We are proud to

call you all members of the Task Force Hannibal

team! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and

again…thank you!

SGT Audie Murphy was the highest decorated Soldier in American history. He earned a battlefield commission for his courage and leadership ability as well as citations and deco-rations including every medal for valor that America gives while serving in the 15

th Infantry

Regiment of the 3rd

Infantry Division. The prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Club (SAMC) was started in 1986, and spread Army wide in 1994. The SAMC board is open to all Non-Commissioned Officers throughout the Army and is an extremely difficult board to complete and pass. On 2 November 2013, SSG Jennifer Colon, sponsored by SFC Terrance Sorrells, com-peted in the SGT Audie Murphy Board at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Because of her outstanding performance during the board, she was chosen, along with 16 other Soldiers across Regional Command East and North, to be inducted into the SGT Audie Murphy Club on 23 December, 2013. SPC Shirleta Lawson, one of SSG Colon’s Soldiers in the 524

th

CSSB S2 shop, was able to introduce SSG Colon at the SAMC induction ceremony and tell everyone why SSG Colon is such a worthy inductee. SPC Lawson stated, “SSG Colon is my SGT Audie Murphy because of her commitment, confidence and character. Her daily actions as my NCOIC are what keep me motivated during this deployment. There is no is-sue my NCO cannot handle. SSG Colon feeds her soldiers with knowledge as well as pushes them towards success, only to see the best in them. She is loyal, caring, disciplined, and always professional. She leads from the front, just like SGT Audie Murphy.”

Congratulations to

SSG Colon on her out-

standing achievement!

What is LOVE?

Love! What is it? It is a decision and not an emotion even though an emotion

may be attached to it. It is looking at what is best for the needs of the other

person and not you. Christmas is the culmination of this type of selfless un-

conditional love. Such love should allow us to reflect upon the people that we

love and who love us, as well as how we need to reconcile or repair that rela-

tionship if it is strained.

This deployment has tested our love, especially with those of you whom are

married or have a friend that you love. Love is hard work. For real Love is pa-

tient, it is kind. It is not jealous, and is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not

rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not

brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the

truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all

things. Love never fails.

A wise woman once said: “It is easy to love the people far away. It is not al-

ways easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve

hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own

home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must

start.”

Indeed, the family is where we are taught to either hate or love. Likewise, we

are our children’s moral compass from which they will view and judge the

world. If we start with true love in our families, then we will send into the

world young adults who can carry the torch of love and true relationships to

others. Inevitably, the world will be a better

place to live in.

Take time this Christmas to say you love your

spouse, family members and friends. Recon-

cile where needed before we redeploy.

May all of you have a Blessed Christmas and a

New Year full of hope and joy!

CH (CPT) Mark Mastin

Peace on earth and goodwill to men, no time of year and no place on earth does this phrase mean more than to a Soldier fighting away from home and family at Christmas time. Stories of Soldiers sharing of goodwill toward men trying to kill them can be found in letters and stories from every modern war. There seems to be an inner desire in all men to have at least one day a year where peace truly reigns supreme. During the American Civil War, Northern and Southern Soldiers traded tobacco, coffee, and newspapers, fished peacefully on opposite sides of a stream, and even gathered blackberries together but it was dur-ing the Christmas of 1914 that the magic of Christmas sparked, what could be, the most remarkable dis-play of goodwill between men in the history of war. Starting in some places on Christmas Eve and in others on Christmas Day, it is believed that the truce covered almost two-thirds of the British-German front, with thousands of Soldiers taking part. Below is written almost word for word, pieced together by Aaron Shep and published in Australia’s School Maga-zine, April 2001 from a combination of letters gathered from: Private Frederick Heath, the truce began late that same night when “all down our line of trenches there came to our ears a greeting unique in war: ‘English soldier, English soldier, a merry Christmas, a merry Christmas!’” Rifleman Oswald Tilley told his parents in a letter home—”literally hundreds of each side were out in no man’s land shaking hands.” Captain Clifton Stockwell, wrote in his diary of “one Saxon, who spoke excellent English” and who “used to climb in some eyrie in the brewery and spend his time asking ‘How is London getting on?’, ‘How was Gertie Millar and the Gaiety?’, and so on. Lots of our men had blind shots at him in the dark, at which he laughed, [but] one night I came out and called, ‘Who the hell are you?’ At once came back the answer, ‘Ah—the officer—I expect I know you—I used to be head waiter at the Great Central Hotel.” Lieutenant Johannes Niemann, Us Germans really roared when a gust of wind revealed that the Scots wore no drawers under their kilts—and hooted and whistled every time they caught an impudent glimpse of one posterior belonging to one of “yesterday’s enemies.”

Christmas Day 1914

My dear sister Janet, It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts—yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve. In truth, what happened seems almost like a fairy tale, and if I hadn’t been through it myself, I would scarce believe it. Just imagine: While you and the family sang carols before the fire there in London, I did the same with enemy soldiers here on the battlefields of France! As I wrote before, there has been little serious fighting of late. The first battles of the war left so many dead that both sides have held back until replacements could come from home. So we have mostly stayed in our trenches and waited. But what a terrible waiting it has been! Knowing that any moment an artillery shell might land and explode beside us in the trench, killing or maiming several men. And in day-light not daring to lift our heads above ground, for fear of a sniper’s bullet. And the rain—it has fallen al-most daily. Of course, it collects right in our trenches, where we must bail it out with pots and pans. And with the rain has come mud—a good foot or more deep. It splatters and cakes everything, and constantly sucks at our boots. One new recruit got his feet stuck in it, and then his hands too when he tried to get out—just like in that American story of the tar baby!

Through all this, we couldn’t help feeling curious about the German soldiers across the way. After all, they faced the same dangers we did, and slogged about in the same muck. What’s more, their first trench was only 50 yards from ours. Between us lay No Man’s Land, bordered on both sides by barbed wire—yet they were close enough we sometimes heard their voices. Of course, we hated them when they killed our friends. But other times, we joked about them and almost felt we had something in common. And now it seems they felt the same. Just yesterday morning—Christmas Eve Day—we had our first good freeze. Cold as we were, we welcomed it, because at least the mud froze solid. Everything was tinged white with frost, while a bright sun shone over all. Perfect Christmas weather. During the day, there was little shelling or rifle fire from either side. And as darkness fell on our Christmas Eve, the shooting stopped entirely. Our first complete silence in months! We hoped it might promise a peaceful holiday, but we didn’t count on it. We’d been told the Germans might attack and try to catch us off guard. I went to the dugout to rest, and lying on my cot, I must have drifted asleep. All at once my friend John was shaking me awake, saying, “Come and see! See what the Germans are doing!” I grabbed my rifle, stumbled out into the trench, and stuck my head cautiously above the sandbags. I never hope to see a stranger and more lovely sight. Clusters of tiny lights were shining all along the German line, left and right as far as the eye could see. “What is it?” I asked in bewilderment, and John answered, “Christmas trees!” And so it was. The Germans had placed Christmas trees in front of their trenches, lit by candle or lantern like beacons of good will. And then we heard their voices raised in song. Stille nacht, heilige nacht . . . . This carol may not yet be familiar to us in Britain, but John knew it and translated: “Silent night, holy night.” I’ve never heard one lovelier—or more meaningful, in that quiet, clear night, its dark softened by a first-quarter moon. When the song finished, the men in our trenches applauded. Yes, British soldiers applauding Germans! Then one of our own men started singing, and we all joined in. The first Nowell, the angel did say . . . . In truth, we sounded not nearly as good as the Germans, with their fine harmonies. But they responded with enthusiastic applause of their own and then began another. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum . . . . Then we replied. O come all ye faithful . . . . But this time they joined in, singing the same words in Latin. Adeste fideles . . . . British and German harmonizing across No Man’s Land! I would have thought nothing could be more amazing—but what came next was more so. “English, come over!” we heard one of them shout. “You no shoot, we no shoot.” There in the trenches, we looked at each other in bewilderment. Then one of us shouted jokingly, “You come over here.” To our astonishment, we saw two figures rise from the trench, climb over their barbed wire, and advance unprotected across No Man’s Land. One of them called, “Send officer to talk.” I saw one of our men lift his rifle to the ready, and no doubt others did the same—but our captain called out, “Hold your fire.” Then he climbed out and went to meet the Germans halfway. We heard them talking, and a few minutes later, the captain came back with a German cigar in his mouth! “We’ve agreed there will be no shooting before midnight tomorrow,” he announced. “But sentries are to remain on duty, and the rest of you, stay alert.” Across the way, we could make out groups of two or three men starting out of trenches and coming toward us. Then some of us were climbing out too, and in minutes more, there we were in No Man’s Land, over a hundred soldiers and officers of each side, shaking hands with men we’d been trying to kill just hours earlier! Before long a bonfire was built, and around it we mingled—British khaki and German grey. I must say, the Germans were the better dressed, with fresh uniforms for the holiday. Only a couple of our men knew German, but more of the Germans knew English. I asked one of them why that was.

“Because many have worked in England!” he said. “Before all this, I was a waiter at the Hotel Cecil. Perhaps I waited on your table!” “Perhaps you did!” I said, laughing. He told me he had a girlfriend in London and that the war had interrupted their plans for marriage. I told him, “Don’t worry. We’ll have you beat by Easter, then you can come back and marry the girl.” He laughed at that. Then he asked if I’d send her a postcard he’d give me later, and I promised I would. Another German had been a porter at Victoria Station. He showed me a picture of his family back in Munich. His eldest sister was so lovely, I said I should like to meet her someday. He beamed and said he would like that very much and gave me his family’s address. Even those who could not converse could still exchange gifts—our cigarettes for their cigars, our tea for their coffee, our corned beef for their sausage. Badges and buttons from uniforms changed owners, and one of our lads walked off with the infamous spiked helmet! I myself traded a jackknife for a leather equipment belt—a fine souvenir to show when I get home. Newspapers too changed hands, and the Germans howled with laughter at ours. They assured us that France was fin-ished and Russia nearly beaten too. We told them that was nonsense, and one of them said, “Well, you believe your newspapers and we’ll believe ours.” Clearly they are lied to—yet after meeting these men, I wonder how truthful our own newspapers have been. These are not the “savage barbarians” we’ve read so much about. They are men with homes and families, hopes and fears, princi-ples and, yes, love of country. In other words, men like ourselves. Why are we led to believe otherwise? As it grew late, a few more songs were traded around the fire, and then all joined in for—I am not lying to you—“Auld Lang Syne.” Then we parted with promises to meet again tomorrow, and even some talk of a football match. I was just starting back to the trenches when an older German clutched my arm. “My God,” he said, “why cannot we have peace and all go home?” I told him gently, “That you must ask your emperor.” He looked at me then, searchingly. “Perhaps, my friend. But also we must ask our hearts.” And so, dear sister, tell me, has there ever been such a Christmas Eve in all history? And what does it all mean, this im-possible befriending of enemies? For the fighting here, of course, it means regrettably little. Decent fellows those sol-diers may be, but they follow orders and we do the same. Besides, we are here to stop their army and send it home, and never could we shirk that duty. Your Loving brother Tom Currently plans are in the works for a centennial commemoration of the truce. The British government is cooperating with the National Children’s Football Alliance on efforts to hold a commemorative international football match in Flanders as part of an extended series of events marking the 100th anniversary of key moments in World War I.

To all the Soldiers, Families and friends of the 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, I wish you a Merry Christ-

mas and leave you with a WWII Christmas Card from LG Patton to his beloved Soldiers;