December 2001

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#999933" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04a006e0ddwnfv.png"> <div> <B>143rd Field Artillery Korean War</B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B></FONT></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" background="04bbec00esnpes.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="143rd Field Artillery Korean War"><B>Home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Newsletter"><B>Newsletter</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> December 2001</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> 143rd Field Artillery Korean War</B><B> <A NAME="war"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>Newsletter</B></div> <div> <B>Facta non Verba</B></div> <div> <U>http://143korea.tripod.com/index.html</U></div> <bR> <div> Issue 3                                                     December 2001</div> <bR> <div>      Holliday Greetings to you all. As we, the veterans and families of the 143rd, gather together to celebrate the Christmas Season I trust that you remember the reason for the season. As you exchange gifts and visit family remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. His love is free to us all. No matter where you stand on the issue Christ will always be a part of Christmas. For those of you that do not know Christ, do not be offended. It is the Christmas season, and it is a time for joy and family. Please enjoy your time with family and friends. </div> <div>      I thought I would share a story from a 143rd vet. William (Bill) Arnold, a 143rd Korea vet and good friend of my Dad, wrote the story.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>Holidays from the Heart</B> by Bill Arnold</div> <bR> <div> Christmas in service brightened by Japanese orphans.</div> <div>      In 1951, I was stationed in Japan in the United States Army. It was early November. On a Sunday afternoon, as several of my fellow soldiers and I were thinking about the coming holiday, our morale was very low. This would be our second Christmas away from home.</div> <div>      What could we do to bring the excitement to Japan? I had an idea. We all loved children, so why not invite an orphanage and have a Christmas party?</div> <div>      A group of us went to the service club and asked the directors help us. They agreed to help and invited an orphanage,</div> <div>      We all had our parents send Stockings, toys and candy. My mother sent me a Santa suit, as I was to be the jolly guy in the red suit.</div> <div>      We were all ready when the big day arrived. Finally, the orphanage drove up to the service club. This would be a new chapter in these children's lives. Japanese people are Buddhist and didn't know about Christian ways.</div> <div>      As the children filled into the large room, they couldn't believe what they were seeing -- their first Christmas tree with all the lights and ornaments. They stared in disbelief.</div> <div>      Then the woman from the orphanage said something in Japanese. All the children gathered around the piano to sing "Silent Night" in English and German.</div> <div>      While the carols were being sung, I slipped away to put on my Santa suit and make my grand entrance. I went to the piano by the children.</div> <div>      The plan was to have each soldier take a child's hand and march around </div> <div> the hall while music was being played. About this time, the children were catching </div> <div> on and loving it. But the best was yet to come</div> <div>      On the last round of the hall, Santa stopped at the Christmas tree and </div> <div> gave each child a stocking filled with candy and small toys.</div> <div>      Want another surprise? Yes! The service club women brought out chocolate ice cream, cake and milk. We soldiers again took a child and proceeded to help these little ones to eat these new and delicious treats.</div> <div>      There is no way to describe the expressions on these little faces and the eagerness to get more of this great tasting food.</div> <div>      It was a good thing there was a plentiful supply of napkins because wiping noses and chocolate ice cream from their faces kept us busy. But this was our day, and we were enjoying every second of it.</div> <div>      All good things must come to an end. I hate goodbyes, and so did these children. When the women from the orphanage said it was time for (sayonora), they cried. Some tried to hide. Some just got on the bus. The others were carried. When roll call was called and all were present, the bus door closed, and the bus slowly drove away.</div> <div>      Yes, we had our Christmas with the excitement of children and all the goodies that went with it. This was the best present we could get. It helped ease the pain and loneliness of being away from the ones we loved at Christmas.</div> <div>      On Christmas Eve, we were alerted that we were to leave for Korea to help fight the Korean War.</div> <bR> <div>      My Father, who some of you know, will be flying to Florida for two weeks. My brother and I who live in Florida are doing this for a gift for my folks. Our plans to go north for the Holidays changed due to my broken back. My Dad will see these newsletters and the web site for the first time. I have made arrangements with the local National Guard Captain and the Korean War Veterans Chapter to have an impromptu presentation of the ROK Service Medal at the local Armory. With his new medal I will present him with a display board I made from an Ike jacket and a little imagination. I will take pictures and post them on the site.  </div> <bR> <div>      New pages update. On the Members list page a link to a page in memory of 143rd Korean War vets who have since passed on was added. Please e-mail, write, or phone me with any names that need to be added to the list. A series of poems written by M/SGT W. E. Newman, SGT/MAJ, 143rd FA Bn during the New Guinea campaign of WWII can be found on the War stories page. I’ve also added about 270 photos from my Dad’s collection to the Pictures page. I hope you enjoy viewing them. Those of you with no access to the Internet might consider your local library. Most have computers and will help you log on and view the site.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2001"><IMG SRC="0fa32320.png" border=0 width="50" height="50" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A> <A HREF="#war" TITLE="December 2001"><IMG SRC="0fb32320.png" border=0 width="50" height="50" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A> <A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2002"><IMG SRC="0f832320.png" border=0 width="50" height="50" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></A></div> <div>  <IMG SRC="http://members.tripod.com/bin/counter/id98.htm?FF0000" ALT="[Tripod Counter]">  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>