Christmas Dinner in the Pacific and other stories...

 My Father served on an LST in the Pacific during WWII, including during the Battle of Leyte Gulf...  

 The USS Appalachian was built in Kearny, NJ., only a few miles from where my Father grew up,in Newark, NJ. The Appalachian was placed in commission in October 1943. Transferred to the Pacific soon after her shakedown cruise, she served as a command ship for the invasion of Kwajalein in January-February 1944. Subsequently, Appalachian supported amphibious assaults at Guam in July, Leyte in October 1944 and Lingayen Gulf in January 1945. Ny Father served as a gunner's mate/ship's bookkeeper during his service duration. 

 

Christmas Day schedule on the USS Appalachian somewhere in the South Pacific 78 years ago today. Dutifully prepared and typed by my Father.

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Sorry - shoulda been up last night...

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Dean Martin with his daughter Gail and Frank Sinatra with his daughter Nancy on The Dean Martin Show Christmas episode in 1967.
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Joe Biden did not participate in the traditional taking of phonecalls from children anxiously waiting for Santa Presidents have traditionally been known to take calls from children on Christmas Eve since 1955. Last year a dad told President Joe Biden 'let's go Brandon' - code on the right for 'fuck Joe Biden' during a Christmas Eve event where NORAD tracks Santa Claus. Instead, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden could be seen taking the calls while the president could be seen helping to decorate a Christmas tree. 
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While this is reported to be the 'coldest Christmas 

in 50 years' here in the US...

We tend to forget the world is upside down down under. It's summertime down there - If they ever do have a 'white Christmas', we're all kinda fucked, if you get my drift...

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Vice President Kamala Harris gave dozens of migrants the cold shoulder after two busloads were dumped outside her DC residence on Christmas Eve - one of the coldest nights on record. 

The group stood outside in the freezing 18 degree temperatures with some only wearing T-shirts, CNN reported. Some were given blankets and were placed on another bus headed to a local church. It remains unclear who is responsible for sending the Christmas Eve migrants to the Naval Observatory on Saturday night in dangerously cold temperatures, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott admitted he had sent buses of migrants north, including to a location outside Harris' home, back in September. Late Saturday night, three buses of asylum seekers sent by Abbott were headed to New York but had to redirect due to the weather, CNN's Noah Gray tweeted. The tweet said: 'Amy Fischer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network tells me the 3 busses of asylum seekers were sent by Texas & originally headed for NY but "shifted to DC because of the weather," busses picking up were from DC govt- the migrants were bussed to a DC church.'

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And apologies to Hopper...
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Despite the frigid temperatures (the temperature was in the mid-40's but water temperature was 78), the 14th annual Christmas Eve Surfing Santas festival was held Saturday morning at Cocoa Beach on Florida’s Space Coast.

The event has grown from 10 surfers dressed in Santa costumes when it started in 2009 to hundreds of participants on surfboards, boogie boards and paddle boards in years past. Close to 140 surfers braved the frigid water Saturday morning. Almost 10,000 spectators showed up to cheer them on, and a beachside restaurant distributed free hot cocoa to help them stay warm, according to organizers.
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Father Christmas walks the streets of wartime London. December 1940.
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