On a cold December night, in a place far away, there was another Christmas miracle. It was during the Korean War, 62 years ago.
The Marines who had taken the Chosin Reservoir were now pretty sure that they would be home by Christmas. They were ordered to hold their ground until new orders could come from Washington, D.C. During the next two weeks the Chinese forces completely surrounded the Marines and things really looked bad. When the orders came to "leave Korea", the troops began an 84 mile long trek out of the mountains to the sea. All along the way, there were Chinese roadblocks and several battles to be fought.
After many snowy nights, the sky began to clear and the stars were visible again. Now the troops could call in their Marine Corsair planes to give them some cover as they fought their way down that icy mountain road. Many saw the brightest star that night as a sign that they would be able to survive the trap. That star became the symbol of an organization they would form years later - The Chosin Few.
It was no longer likely that those Marines would make it home for Christmas. On December 5, about halfway out of the mountains, the war ended for me. I found myself being air evacuated along with many others in an old DC-3 to a Japanese hospital. Time seemed to stand still. There were hospital stays in Wake Island, Hawaii, Oakland, San Antonio and finally the Naval Hospital, in my home town of Philadelphia. It was 10 pm on Christmas Eve.
I had made it home for Christmas! It was the VERY MERRIEST of Christmases!
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