The Journal News, 20 DEC 98
Excerpt from front page article.
"Dan Griffin knows the loneliness felt by service members patrolling the
Persian Gulf and helping keep the peace in Bosnia this holiday season,
and how even small gestures can bolster a soul.
While families gather around the Christmas tree, or light another candle
on the menorah back home, U.S. soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors who
on Saturday finished with Operation Desert Fox likely will rely on letters
from home while eating a turkey dinner prepared by military cooks.
Christmas war stories are commonplace among veterans. Griffin
remembers spending Christmas 1968 in South Vietnam, a half a world away
from his wife and new daughter.
"My parents sent me a small battery-operated Christmas tree with lights,"
said Griffin, 51, who now lives in White Plains.
The soldiers held a poncho over Griffin's foxhole to block out the
light, fearing it would attract a mortar bombardment.
"I was thinking about Christmas back home and wanting to be there,"
he said, recalling how his thoughts drifted to his baby daughter as he
lighted the tree. "I didn't even see her yet. She was born
in October." After Griffin, each man in his unit took a turn with the tree,
including his commander.
On Christmas Day, Griffin decided to pass his tree on to a helicopter
pilot. Two years ago, he met a former pilot who told a story of having
a Christmas tree shoved into his helicopter by a soldier.
"I told him that was me," he said."