Survivors of the Battle for Cu Chi, Thanksgiving Day 1966

My husband was with the 1st Batallion (Mechanized) Fifth Infantry, 25th Infantry Division also known as Bobcats, in the Vietnam War.

On November 25, 1966, Operation Attleboro ended and most of the units involved went back to the Cu Chi base camp on November 24th. However, the unit my husband was with stayed behind to conduct deep reconnaissance and "training exercises" on extraction techniques east of Trai Bi. Thanksgiving Day was on November 28, 1966 which meant my husband celebrated the holiday near the Cambodian border.

He recalls eating his Thanksgiving dinner on the ground. The standard Thanksgiving dinner was flown out to them by helicopter and they enjoyed a hot dinner of turkey, dressing, and all the usual trimmings.

In a letter written afterwards to his grandmother in Florida, he stated how blessed he felt that day and how much he had to be thankful for, even while he was in southeast Asia and ate his dinner sitting on the ground near the Cambodian border. In his heart, he was offering up thanks to God for His unspeakable goodness.

I wanted to share this little snippet of history because it serves as a reminder to all of us that we have so much for which to be thankful. Today we still have many men and women who are stationed in war torn areas all around the globe. They are faithfully executing the orders issued by their Commander in Chief. As Thanksgiving Day rolls around, I'm sure they will repeat a similar experience as my husband on that Thanksgiving Day in 1966. Even though they are far from home, unable to be with their families, unable to sit down at a table and enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving meal, they will still be thankful in the deepest recesses of their hearts.

If they can be thankful, then surely we can also. The election is behind us and the United States is on the verge of inaugurating a new President. The President-Elect reminds us that America has only one President at a time and this Thanksgiving, George W. Bush is still our President. We, as a nation, need to give him the honor that is due him as our Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Although men and women will sit down to Thanksgiving Dinner in a variety places, they will be giving thanks, indeed, that they are Americans and that they live in the most blessed nation in the world. Elections come and go and so do leaders, but the American people, no matter where they might themselves, should always stop and focus on all the things we have for which to be thankful.

My husband bowed his head in Vietnam and said a prayer of thanks over his meal that day, just as he always does every day. He was alive and was able to enjoy the meal provided by his country, The United States of America. He was not forgotten even though he was on foreign soil doing a job that most people thought was despicable. He did his job anyway with a thankful heart to his God.

Sources:

Personal Account

http://www.bobcat.ws/history1966.htm