USA — ‘Twas a Night in December

WASHINGTON — Ser­vice­mem­bers sta­tioned from Antarc­ti­ca to Afghanistan lent their tal­ents and time to craft a video for a poem titled “ ‘Twas a Night in Decem­ber,” based on Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Vis­it from St. Nicholas,” but rewrit­ten with a mil­i­tary twist.

More than 40 com­mands around the world, rep­re­sent­ing every branch of the mil­i­tary ser­vice, participated. 

Along with the mil­i­tary peo­ple who con­tributed to this cre­ative effort, coun­try music star Toby Kei­th intro­duced the video, rein­forc­ing his long-term sup­port for mil­i­tary and their fam­i­lies sta­tioned around the world. 

Some of the ser­vice­mem­bers involved in this hol­i­day greet­ing were locat­ed in the most remote regions in the world. For exam­ple, Air Force Capt. Gray­don Muller of 6th Spe­cial Oper­a­tions Squadron and Air Force Capt. Rob Mar­shall of the 8th Spe­cial Oper­a­tions Squadron depart­ed Nov. 24 to climb Vin­son Mas­sif, the high­est moun­tain in Antarc­ti­ca. Muller and Mas­sif took time away from their climb to speak a few lines for the video. 

Oth­er ser­vice­mem­bers from Afghanistan, Ger­many, Iraq, Italy, Pak­istan and through­out the Unit­ed States par­tic­i­pat­ed in mak­ing the video. In fact, peo­ple on six out of the world’s sev­en con­ti­nents took part. The video was pro­duced by Defense Media Activity’s emerg­ing media directorate. 

‘Twas a Night in Decem­ber
‘Twas a night in Decem­ber and all over the world,
At bases and sta­tions where our flag flies unfurled,
The Hol­i­day sea­son had long since com­menced,
And spread its spir­it of cheer through the Depart­ment of Defense.
Com­bat boots sat at ease by the fence line with care,
In hopes that a return date soon would be there.
At home, loved ones slept sound in their beds,
With visions of troops com­ing home in their heads.
As Moms per­form night patrols, and Dads con­duct checks,
A long winter’s nap is the last thing they expect.
When out on the tar­mac arose such a clat­ter,
Sol­diers and sailors sprang up to see what was the mat­ter.
Away to the deck, they hus­tled, they dashed,
Some ran through a pas­sage­way, one opened a hatch.
In Antarc­ti­ca, moon­light shim­mered on the snow,
A sliv­er of light shown on the objects below.
And what to our won­der­ing eyes should appear,
But let­ters and pack­ages bun­dled with care.
Yet it was­n’t just there that we saw these things land,
We received them as well, here in Afghanistan!
They were pack­aged so well that they could with­stand,
The harsh desert winds full of Iraqi sand.
Onto Nicaragua with vol­ca­noes and lakes,
Padded so care­ful­ly that noth­ing would break
Addressed from our fam­i­ly and friends we hold dear,
With Hol­i­day greet­ings and a “Wish You Were Here!”
We lined up and claimed them, with smiles ear-to-ear,
Every per­son over­come with Hol­i­day cheer.
Your sup­port and your thoughts are the best pos­si­ble gift,
We send you our thanks for giv­ing our spir­its such a lift.
Thanks from the Nation­al Guard
Thanks from the Army,
Thanks from the Navy,
Thanks from the Marines,
Thanks from the Air Force,
Thanks from the Coast Guard,
We want you to know how much this gift means.
In our eyes you’re super, and we mean A‑OK.
We will do our duty and keep defend­ing our free­dom,
And wish you and yours the very best this Hol­i­day season! 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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