’Tis The Season To Be
Fort Bend Strong!
D
ecember of every year is a special time in Fort Bend. We all find some way to celebrate the life we’ve been given, the family and friends who love us, and the blessings we share living in Fort Bend. These celebrations have many names:
Bodhi Day (Rohatsu), Hanukkah, the Solstice (Dongzhi), Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, Omisoka and Festivus to name a few. These are examples of the depths of Fort Bend’s diversity, and that makes us Fort Bend Strong!
These celebrations are normally times of great joy! They sometimes happen in the strangest places. I am a Christian and former United States Naval Aviator, so I’m going to share four Christmas holiday stories of love, hope and faith during America’s wars. Let’s start with General George Washington. When the Continental Congress declared our independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, Mr. Washington became General Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. It’s hard to imagine a worse unit to command. They were fighting the most powerful army in the world. They were a bunch of farmers who only used weapons to kill animals to eat. Their marksmanship was horrific. They had no military discipline. They didn’t not know basic tactics of combat. The British whipped us every time we fought. Our ammunition, food and morale were fading. The dream of the United States of America was on the verge of extinction. General Washington had to have one victory! He chose to cross the frozen Delaware River at Trenton on Christmas night 1776 to attack a huge garrison
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of German soldiers hired by the British to fight us. The attack was a complete surprise. We routed the Germans. Our morale soared, new enlistees showed up and other European powers started to help us. General Washington knew the victory came from Heaven. That’s why he prayed alone in the snow on Christmas Day. Those brave souls allowed us to become Fort Bend Strong!
Austrians fighting France and Great Britain. America entered the war on April 2, 1917. All fighting stopped on November 11, 1918. World War I gave the world a new, horrific way to kill – trench warfare. Both sides would dig deep trenches, encase them with concrete and barbed wire, and never move. The battle lines barely shifted – 9,700,000 military personnel died and 10,000,000 civilians died. On Christmas Day 1914, the slaughter stopped for one day. In the dark on Christmas Eve, French and British soldiers heard German soldiers singing Christmas carols from their trenches. A German brass band could be heard. At sunrise, a few Germans crawled unarmed out of their trenches and walked into the dead zone between the combatants, saying, “Merry Christmas!” Seeing the Germans were unarmed, the French and British soldiers left their trenches to celebrate the birth of Jesus with their enemies. There were handshakes, hugs, carols and shared cigarettes until the sun went down. They said goodbye, went back to their trenches and started killing again. Even in trench warfare, a brief celebration of life happened. The “Christmas Truce” shows us the values that make us Fort Bend Strong!
The Prayer at Valley Forge. A painting by Arnold Friberg. Photo source: https://www.meetamerica.com/georgewashingtons-prayer-at-valley-forge/.
World War I is my second example of life and faith at Christmas during war. A Serbian nationalist assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 14, 1914. Seven weeks later, Europe was at war with the Germans and
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The Daily Mirror: “A historic group: British and German soldiers photographed together.” Photo source: https://duluthreader.com/ articles/2017/12/21/109786-remembering-the-power-of-thechristmas-truce-of.
