The Vail Voice welcomes Ambur Wilkerson to our cadre of volunteer writers. Ambur is a graduate student working on a degree in journalism at the University of Arizona. In this issue, she writes about the diversity of the holidays. In our American mosaic, the Christmas time celebrations contain some common elements as well as different ones. For example, some families open presents Christmas morning, and some Christmas Eve, while others will blend traditions by opening one Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning. Accordingly, our diverse Christmas traditions also grow to incorporate elements of other cultures. It would not be uncommon, over the holidays, to enjoy menudo, lesfe, and collard greens.
I am reminded, for many of us, even some of the Christmas Day celebrations we remember will be different. When I was in the military, I celebrated Christmas Day somewhere in the austere desert of Saudia Arabia, at 6,000 feet in the snow-capped mountains of the Sequoia National Park in California, overseas in Okinawa, and in few unremembered locations somewhere on the West Pacific. Many of them are not remembered, except I do know that the cooks (and supply system) are to be commended for doing their best to make the best meal possible under the circumstances – and generally, the meal was very welcomed and done well.
I asked one local veteran, Tom Campbell, Chief Master Sergeant, USAF (Ret), if he had a Christmas experience he remembered. Tom told me, that while stationed at Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam, he could not afford, and did not have an opportunity, for a “rest and recuperation” trip. The best he could get was a working trip to Cam Rahn Bay with a stop at Tuy Hoa Air Base.
Tom writes, “We enjoyed a quiet Christmas telling stories and eating fine meals in the NCO Club. It was a big change from the frequent rocket and mortar attacks we endured at Da Nang. A lot of Christmas mail had arrived during my trip to Cam Rahn Bay, and the best part of the holiday season was opening them when I returned to Da Nang.”
Interestingly, today Tom assists his spouse Ev, with a support group that sends cards and packages to deployed troops, and Christmas time is a special time as well. If you would like to find out more about this program and how to support it, go to page 11 for more information.
Finally, no matter where the holidays find you, whether or not you celebrate them, and how you celebrate them, if you do, The Vail Voice wishes our readers a memorable holiday season. Feliz Navidad, God Jul, Merry Christmas, or Batlh BIlopjaj (Klingon) we hope the season is full of joy for you and yours.
