Two Christmases I’ll always remember

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    Once in a while, someone will ask me about the most unusual Christmas I’ve experienced. That’s easy. Actually, I have two of them.
    Nine days after I graduated from high school, I joined the Army. After finishing basic training at Fort Knox, I was assigned to radio repair school at the base.

    Unfortunately, I had the dubious distinction of being one of three students out of 100 to be assigned to Korea after graduation. Since the final day of class was in mid-December, we assumed we’d go home for Christmas before departing to our next duty station.
    Well, some did — but not me and my two Korea-bound classmates. We were given a plane ticket to Oakland, Calif. where we were processed, vaccinated and shipped out two days before Christmas.
    Troop transport ships are like floating cattle cars, although I think the cattle had more room. I was pretty queasy for most of the 23-day trip, with tomato juice as my stomach’s savior.
    But on Christmas Eve, we were pleasantly surprised by an announcement over the public address system. There would be a buffet and Christmas concert on the upper deck, which was usually off-limits to the low-ranking enlisted troops.
    The mess crew put out a nice spread for us and the officers and their families entertained us with a combination of modern and traditional Christmas carols.
    Two days later, we arrived in Honolulu where Santa Clauses were dressed in red shorts and palm trees were decorated with Christmas ornaments.
    So that’s Unusual Christmas No. 1.
    The second one was in Korea. Technically, the country was still a combat zone although hostile fire was rare. Still, we had restrictions on when and where we could go off post. Usually, I joined the other 19 and 20-year-olds at the enlisted club before heading for the villages. Christmas Eve, quite frankly, was not really on my radar screen as anything more than the day before a holiday.
    So after finishing a few beers at an off-post watering hole, one of my bunkmates reminded us, “You know, it’s Christmas Eve. We really ought to go to Midnight Mass.”
    After giving him a few blank stares, someone said, “Why not? We’re dressed up, we’re out and the Catholic Church is right down the road.”
    So all six of us agreed to go to church in Tongduchon, and hopefully find a pew where no one would mind our beer breath.
    By 11:30 p.m., the crowds started piling in. We drew a few stares, but also a lot of smiles and “Merry Christmas!” from the congregation.
    In those days, the Catholic Mass was in Latin, so it didn’t matter if you were in Korea or Kansas City – the ritual was mostly the same.
    But the most pleasant surprise came when a chorus of youngsters, dressed up in red and white uniforms, sang “Silent Night,” “Oh, Holy Night,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and other Christmas classics in their native language.
    Suddenly, we didn’t feel so far away from home. We probably had moist eyes before the evening ended, but it’s definitely one of my more memorable Christmas observances.
    So in light of all that nostalgia, I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
    Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.