Merry Christmas to those serving

[Steve Molcsan]

Christmas night about to come to its annual expiration until
next year.

Allow me to extend my sincere appreciation to those serving our
Great Country. Especially during the Holidays

Thank you for preserving my way of life. My family will always
remain in your debt.

With a very Merry Christmas to all of you and yours,


Steve Molcsan

[ohiotuber]

Steve,
Sorry I didn't see this post until now. I echo your statements...couldn't have said it better.
May God hold them all in the palm of his hand and return them safely to those of us who love and admire them.
Mike

[Steve Molcsan]

I wanted to try to vote on my own post just to see if it would allow the author to vote for oneself.
Under any other circumstance I would not even think of rating my own post.

Anyway the vote seemed to be cast? Is this correct?
Can a person rate their own post?
I can not see why one would....


This was the perfect post to try it on, as it rates top shelf no matter
who wrote it.

Take care.... and of course, I never inhaled........

[Marco]

Steve,
Of course we all wish those serving the best possible under their circumstances. Most of us convey our well wishes to them in words while some, who are able, in actions. Today I again received an e-mail originally sent to me in 2005. I think it's worth posting here within your thread.

Subject: A Wonderful Christmas Story



Here's a 'today' Yule story that occurred 3+ weeks ago( 2005) ~ AND NOW, in time for
> the holidays, I bring you the best Christmas story you never heard.
>
> It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by
> sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. "We
> have to let them know we care," Vivian told Bennett. So they organized a trip to
> bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval
> Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3.
>
> The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it. Yes, there are
> people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin - native
> Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish - is one
> of them.
>
> H e has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and
> white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his
> Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F.
> Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his brother
> Bobby's body to D. C. for burial. "That's a lot of history for one car," says
> Bennett.
>
> He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975,
> during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country
> directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could think of
> no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men
> and women recovering at Walter Reed in D. C. and Bethesda, in Maryland. "We
> wanted to give them a first-class experience ," says Bennett. "Gourmet meals on
> board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats -
> real hero treatment."
>
> Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett
> met with Walter Reed's commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett had
> some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone:
>
> No press on the trip, lest the soldiers' day of pampering devolve into a
> media circus.
>
> No politicians either, because, says Bennett, "I didn't want some idiot
> making this trip into a campaign photo op."
>
> And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy
> saluting superiors to relax.
>
> The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a problem
&g t; on his hands. "I had to actually make this thing happen," he laughs.
>
> Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars
> from around the country - these people tend to know each other - into lending
> their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The Liberty
> Limited.
>
> Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D. C. - where they'd be coupled
> together for the round-trip ride to Philly - then back to their owners later.
>
> Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA
> drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln
> Financial Field, for the game.
>
> A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game - on the
> 50-yard line - and lunch in a hospitality suite.
> < BR>> And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity,
> goodie bags for attendees:
>
> From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Wal-Mart, digital cameras. From Nikon,
> field glasses. From GEAR, down jackets.
>
> There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since
> each was allowed to bring a friend or family member.
>
> The Marines, though, declined the offer. "They voted not to take guests with
> them, so they could take more Marines," says Levin, choking up at the memory.
>
> Bennett's an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he'd react to
> meeting the 88 troops and guests at D. C.'s Union Station, where the trip
> originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or accompanied
> by medical personnel for the day. "They ; made it easy to be with them," he
> says. "They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from
> any of them. They're so full of life and determination."
>
> At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even
> Army's lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group's rollicking mood.
>
> Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal - heroes
> get hungry, says Levin - before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda. "The day
> was spectacular," says Levin. "It was all about these kids. It was awesome
> to be part of it."
>
> The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them
> goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station.
>
> "One of the guys was blind, but he said, 'I can't see you, but man , you must
> be f---ing beautiful!' " says Bennett. "I got a lump so big in my throat, I
> couldn't even answer him."
>
> It's been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the
> day's love. "My Christmas came early," says Levin, who is Jewish and who
> loves the Christmas season. "I can't describe the feeling in the air." Maybe it
> was hope.
>
> As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, "The fond
> memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all - whatever the future may
> bring."
>
> God bless the Levins.
>
> And bless the troops, every one.


>
>
>

[Steve Molcsan]

I wanted to try to vote on my own post just to see if it would allow the author to vote for oneself.
Under any other circumstance I would not even think of rating my own post.

Anyway the vote seemed to be cast? Is this correct?
Can a person rate their own post?
I can not see why one would....


This was the perfect post to try it on, as it rates top shelf no matter
who wrote it.

Take care.... and of course, I never inhaled........

Steve Molcsan