I would like to tell you about a very special Christmas. I was in the 6th Marine Division in the Pacific during World War II. My first two Christmases overseas were just another day because we were busy with other matters.

The Pacific Campaign ended in the fall of 1945. Eventually our division was assigned to go to Tsingtao, China, to assist the surrender of the Japanese military in China. We camped in the dormitories at the Tsingtao University, a big improvement over our housing the past couple years.

The Christmas season of 1945 arrived while we were in Tsingtao. On Christmas Eve we were each treated to two cans of beer, if we wanted them. While we were having our beers, my buddy Mitch Joe John and I decided that if we were going to have a Christmas dinner the next day, we needed to have a Christmas tree.

The big problem - where would we get a tree? Being resourceful Marines we found a solution. There was a reasonable looking evergreen tree just outside the front door of our dormitory. We didn’t have much for tools so Joe got his machete and I got my bayonet and we went outside and chopped down that tree. Then we found a mop pail and put the tree trunk in the pail. Using our canteen cups we filled the pail with dirt to hold the tree. We set the tree up in the dining area.

Our next problem - how do we decorate the tree? Remember we were resourceful Marines. We came up with a solution – all those empty beer cans and some medical tape scrounged from our corpsman.

The next day, before our Christmas dinner, the Captain talked to all of us and pointed out that “some Marines” (didn’t give out our names) had gotten us a Christmas tree. He asked “How do you all like it?” Everyone stood and clapped.

A couple days later about thirty of us were sitting on the front steps of the dormitory just watching the local Chinese people walk by. One older man stopped and then walked right toward us. When he got close he looked at the empty spot where the tree used to be. I thought that now we were going to be in trouble.

The man spoke fairly good English. He said, “Welcome to China.” One of my Marines buddies replied “Thank you sir. Sorry about the tree.”

The man replied, “That tree can and will be replaced. It is not important. What is important is that you men had a part in returning our homeland to us from the Japanese military. We can replace that tree but we can never thank you enough for what you have done.” Then he turned and walked away. We all had tears in our eyes.

That was one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received.