Christmas Contrast

 

By Ken DeHaas

2/1 H&S 70-71

 

 

 

The World.  Long time ago, when I was a kid, the Christmas holiday was my most favorite time of the year!  Growing up in Horseheads, New York, I vividly remember my Mom playing all the good old Yuletide songs, as she baked Christmas cookies for me, my little brothers and my Dad.  “Frosty the Snowman”, “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry, the singing cowboy.  Seemed such a special happy time! Snow everywhere.  Christmas carols flooded the airwaves and our neighborhoods. 

 

Very proud moment when my Mom and Dad attended a Christmas concert at Broadstreet School in 1963.  Of course I was the star.  I was tone deaf, but somehow I conned my way into the mixed choir.  From their distant middle row perspective, I imagined Mom and Dad wildly applauding my off key, yet heartfelt performance.  Big night in my insecure young life. 

 

Remember watching TV holiday specials with my mom.  These shows seemed to always fall on a Sunday.  My Dad went bowling on Sunday nights.  “Sing Along With Mitch”, “The Ed Sullivan Show”, “Bonanza Xmas Episode”, Maverick Xmas Episode”, Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates”, “Holiday Affair”, “Miracle on 34th St.” Thirty plus years later it’s “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “Scrooged”. 

 

What little kid could easily succumb to the party pooping Sandman with the most spine tingling morning of the whole year just a few hours away.  At long last I drifted off to a dream land of endless toys and a rare time when my Mom and Dad actually seemed to love each other.  They smiled at each other; hugged each other, and me and my two little brothers were so very happy.  Christmas ended so soon and took forever to come back.

 

   Vietnam.   Christmas Season 1970.  2nd Bn 1st Marines.  Camp Lauer.  Radio Humper.  I went where a radio man was needed.  Echo, Fox, Golf, and Hotel.  Or the 2/1 Communications Center.  As luck would have it I was at Camp Lauer during my most favorite time of the year.  I not only can imagine, but do know how my brothers in the bush were feeling.  During this time I worked several radios at the comm. center.  My primary duty was Medevacs. 

 

A day or two before Christmas Eve, I had a Medevac request come in from a guard post on our perimeter.  Actually this call came in on a secure phone.  It seems that a couple of Marine sentry’s were bored and decided to see who was fastest on the draw with their 45’s.  Can’t remember all the details, but at least one of the shooters was an emergency Medevac.  Great start to our mutant Christmas Season.  Man, what a bad rush!  Called in a chopper and off he went to the USS Sanctuary. 

 

Over the next few days of the Holiday season we did what I call “Hootch Hopping”.  Hootch’s were our humble abodes at the base camp.  Seemed every hooch had its own thing going on for Christmas.  One had “bandoleers of 75’s” (downers), another had “Obesital” (Fat Man Juice), another had “Booze”, another had “Coke/Heroin”, and another had “10 Joint Party Packs”.  I suppose there were “Straight Hootch’s” but who would want to go there?  My deal was Obesital.  It came in the size of a cough syrup bottle.  You would never forget the taste.  Speed in a bottle.  Also known as “Fat Man Juice”.  Better have plenty of cigarettes and lots to do.

 

A lot of base campers had 8 track tape players ordered from Play Boy Magazine.  I believe they were $19.95 and came with several free selections for joining the tape club.  I ordered “The White Album”, “Three Dog Night”, “Peter, Paul and Mary”, “Jimi Hendrix”, and “Janis Joplin”.  We had the best sounds!

 

Christmas Eve, had about a half pint of the “Liquid Speed”.  I’m good to go for at least 48 hours.  Needless to say I didn’t sleep at all with the birthday of Jesus approaching.  I’m in the TACP (14) hootch.  Everyone else is in a stupor, but for yours truly.  All of a sudden, I hear the all too familiar “whoop whoop” of a rapidly approaching chopper.  I stumbled outside, among the piss tubes, to see a fully decked out Santa Claus hanging out of the hatch of a low flying Huey.  HO, HO, HO, Merry Christmas!!! Not same, same, but better than nothing.

 

Where the hell was the SNOW???