"Operation Santa" Christmas at Korean Village

Here's another report about Christmas for 1st LAR, passed along by Col. John Folsom with the Wounded Warrior Project:

Christmas Day passed uneventfully for most of us at Forward Operating Base Camp Korean Village. It was a day like most days; had it not been for the Santa hats and everyone greeting each other with "Merry Christmas!" it would have been like any other day here.

Operation "Santa's Helper" was a great success with hundreds of you sending thousands of Christmas presents to us. Of course, Chief David Peterson was the "go to" guy as he sorted through the packages, clipped addresses, entered the addresses into a spreadsheet and organized the distribution of all the presents to the several units that call Korean Village home.

No "White Christmas," but a brown one as another dust storm came through with a cold front to drop visibility to a half mile before the front passed. As the afternoon sun set, the winds subsided and the skies cleared to reveal a a dark canopy of stars and planets.

Camp Korean Village sits next to the major highway from Jordan and is heavily traveled with trucks, busses and autos. The highway is, no doubt, an ancient trade route that has existed since, well, pre- history. So, as I sat one evening watching the traffic, I wondered if the Magi passed this way on their journey from Persia to Bethlehem bearing their gifts. Perhaps so, but no one can know. But, as I watched Venus over the western horizon, I imagined that the Magi passed Ar Rutbah as they followed the star that led them to the manger and the baby Jesus so many years ago.

From all of us here at Camp Korean Village, thank you for making our Christmas one to remember.

You've seen this snow globe before - Carrie Costantini sent along pictures earlier. However, there's another story worth sharing. Col. Folsom shared this anecdote involving KV chaplain, Lieutenant Wayne Tomasek, USN:

As I reported, the Chaplain was having difficulty in getting the fan motor to work. He could be seen tinkering with the motor to no avail. Despite his best efforts, he could not get it to work, and an electrician was called in to fix the problem. It wasn't easy to fix. The fan motor was finally turned into the battalion's maintenance shop for repair. The problem? It was reported to me that the Chaplain was seen writing in his notebook while muttering, "Note to self: do not plug 110 volt appliances into 220 volt outlets".

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