Dear Amerins,
I'm an army brat. My father served in many wars and came out with them with a busted ear drum and emotional scarring. Now, we live over sees to better help the ones coming back from war.
My friend once asked me "How many soldiers come back for Christmas; six, seven out of ten?"
I looked at her like she was crazy. "More like two, maybe three at most."
That seems to be what most Americans believe: that hundreds of army soldiers come back for Christmas every year. Well, they're wrong. I've experienced Mandy's Christmases without my dad. Many of my friends have too.
I remember when I was younger and my dad got deployed, sent to war. He was gone for fifteen months with one about three weeks total in break. And those weeks, they weren't over Christmas.
So, heck no! Hundreds of soldiers don't come home for the holidays. On average I see 2 out of ten or twenty soldiers come back for about three days for Christmas.
Oh, and to you who want to get rid of the Christ in Christmas, well we're "one country under God" and many people are fighting for that. So why dont you go and celebrate your other holidays and leave that one alone.
Sincerely,
The army brat