Chapter 1 – Henry: The Christmas Song

Christmas of 1950 turned out to be far different from what Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake had expected. While he was trapped in Korea, far from his wife and children on this jolly holiday, he sat sipping from from his brandy glass and wishing more than ever that he was back in Bloomington, Illinois. Seeing the pensive look on the commanding officer's face, visiting Dr. Freedman approached with eggnog in hand and sat in one of the empty chairs at Henry's table.

"Penny for your thoughts," the shrink gently probed with a wink.

"Yo!" Henry started, having been abruptly yanked from his musings. "Uh, hi, Sidney. I was just thinking about Christmas and how I can't believe I'm stuck here in this hell hole waiting to see if the North Koreans are gonna give us some unwanted Christmas presents instead of putting my own presents under the tree. If I were home…" he sighed before taking another sip of his drink.

"Tell me, Henry, what would you be doing if you were home for Christmas."

"If I were home … well I'm not ... but if I was, Lorraine and I would be wrapping presents in our bedroom and marking them 'From Santa Clause', filling stockings after the kids went to bed, trying to keep the cat from boxing down the ornaments, making a mad dash for the back door so the dog doesn't poop on the floor, anticipating only two or three hours sleep because the kids will wanna be up before it's light out so they can open the presents…"

"Why do I get the feeling you're trying to convince yourself Christmas at home is bad in order to elevate your mood?"

"I miss 'em, Sidney. Christmas at the Blake house was always something very special."

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos

"I remember last Christmas like it was yesterday. We had boxes full of Lorraine's home made cookies … sugar cookies, butter cookies, gingerbread men, oatmeal raisen and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I'd tell the kids to leave a plate with one of each kind for Santa because he never told us which ones he liked … well, since I played Santa's unofficial hellper, it was more of an excuse for me to get at lease one of each kind before the wife and kids gobbled them up on me. Then I would take the little ones upstairs and tuck them in."

Everybody knows a turkey and some
Mistletoe help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight

"I remember Janie coming into our room at two in the morning in tears because Molly told her that she saw the presents behind the bed. I explained to her that Santa's sleigh wasn't big enough to carry all the toys he had to deliver, so he often got a head start and delivered some early, asking the parents to keep the secret. That was enough to cheer her up, and she went back to bed. Then I went downstairs to make up a fake letter and paycheck from Santa Clause; I even wrote everything with the opposit hand so the letters would look different."

They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's Child is gonna spy

To see if reindeer really know how to fly

"It would be five in the morning when the kids would be up and pouncing on our bed. Lorraine and I would tell them that Christmas morning doesn't start until it gets light out and that if they didn't go back to bed, we'd make them wait an extra day. To you and me, that wouldn't seem that bad, but to a kid … Let's just say I'd never seen three little people running out the door so fast! At eight, we all got dressed, and I went downstairs alone while Lorraine and the kids stayed upstairs drinking grape juice … hey, I had to see if Santa had left. Well, I told them to come down because the presents were here, but we had to have breakfast first. The rest of the morning was a blurr of torn paper and flying ribbons, laughter and music, hugs and thank you's."

And so, I'm offering this simple phrase

To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times many ways
"Merry Christmas to you"

"Once the kids were busy playing with their new toys, Lorraine and I cuddled by the fireplace drinking hot cider and munching cookies. We'd watch the snow fall outside before shifting our gaze back to the kids. It was just like you would see on a greeting card. Even the pets stayed out of trouble … well they didn't have time to get into trouble because they had new toys to play with too, but if they didn't have those toys, they might have gotten themselves into trouble."

They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy

To see if reindeer really know how to fly

"At dinner time, Lorraine would set out the biggest juiciest turkey you had ever seen, and I would carve it before serving it to everybody. Ahhh, the smells that came out of that oven … The food in the mess tent couldn't even come close to that turkey meal." Henry licked his lips as his mind conjured up the tastes he so sorely missed.

And so, I'm offering this simple phrase

To kids from one to ninety-two
Although it's been said many times many ways
"Merry Christmas to you"

"I'll never forget that Christmas," Henry sighed after he finished his tale. "That's when I got this." He indicated the fishing hat he loved to sport no matter how much of a beating it had taken over the last year.

"It sounds like you really enjoyed that Christmas."

"Ahh, you betcha."

""I know you miss them, Henry, but it's important to keep in mind that this police action can't last forever, and you do have a lot of rotation points. I seriously doubt you'll be spending next Christmas here."

The Midwestern man laughed, "Hahaha, one Christmas here is more than enough, Sidney. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to." Henry closed his eyes and smiled, never suspecting that this was to be his very last Christmas.

Sidney returned the smile before slipping out of his chair and returning to his quiet reconnaissance through the room.