Marines often spend holidays away from home

[JITB]

How about some sea stories on how you spent one or more of the holidays away from home?

[JITB]

I was aboard the USS Traverse County (LST 1160) on the LFM 2-61 Med Cruise. A few days before Christmas, a supply ship pulled along side and we were called up on deck for ration breakdown duty.

http://home.att.net/~jitb/pics/2-61_07.jpg

On Christmas Day we were at sea. But, the Navy tried to make it a good day for all. In the supplies we had stacked up on deck were turkeys and hams. I was impressed how good of a Christmas dinner those Navy cooks put out for us. It did take a little of the homesickness away that many of the Sailors and Marines were feeling.

[MARINE42]

I WAS IN GERMANY [N.A.T.O. 23]
COLD AND WET

[EliteDogg]

I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas at Mt Fuji, Japan in 1979!! Wasn't much of a holiday, but we did hit the enlisted club!!

[GunnySan]

I was aboard ship leaving Hungnam, North Korea 1950. We had evacuated on Christmas Eve just before the Engineers blew it up. We were attached to the Army's 3rd Inf. Div. I don't recall Christmas even being mentioned. We were just glad to be heading south.

[freekick]

Christmas at Camp Courtney, all night shift in the CG's Comm Center...18, first time away from home...but, I was VERY short (20 days!), so that took away some of the misery...

[devildog-64012]

:D Good Holiday if it can be callled that; Spent New Years Eve and Day in Dallas, Texas (1965/66). The Recruit Depot band from Parris Island was invited to march as the lead unit in the Cotton Bowl Parade. This included Free admission to the Game later that day between LSU and Arkansas.

Richard Deiters (5541 at the time)
MSgt USMC(Ret)

2125 27 Nov addition: Of course I paid for that by spending the next year-end in Phu Bai with the 3rd MARDIV Band.

[Cpl Miller]

Missed Chritmas and Thanksgiving 1965, 1966, 1967...ON THE ROCK. Okinawa

[packy46]

Hello Brothers:
Christmas 1965....
Beautiful Chu Lia in the rain
S/F.
Tim

[Cpl Miller]

You must have been eating them there C-Rats we were supplying the 1st Mar Div in Da Nang, and Chu lia from 65 - 68.

I was with Supply Company, Supply Bn attached to the 1st Mar. Div on Oki.

Welcome home Marine....

[packy46]

Hey Cpl:
Yep the very ones,marked 1957,with the moldy Pall Mall cigarettes,
they were great ....Smoked the hell out of those puppies.
(Thanks,seriously for supply....
I was an 1833 Tractor rat,God only knows they kept supply busy...
S/F.
Tim.

[govern4]

1983 on the rock, Camp Schwab,missed turkey day ,missed santa
and the birth of my son.

[Captvaw]

I was in Baghdad 2003 but long out of the Corps. I was AF at that time