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Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
Gen. Sidney Berry offered a Christmas update to his wife from Vietnam in 1966.
Across three pages — typed on Christmas Eve 1966 from a village in South Vietnam — the soldier’s words to his wife dance seamlessly from a description of singing carols in the jungle to his latest enemy kills to, finally, a vow of eternal affection.
“Last night we had a candle-lighting ceremony ... Gasoline drums welded together end to end with a white Noel on the side. Electric light on top covered by red cellophane ... Reindeer and Santa Claus at front. It was raining,” Army Gen. Sidney B. Berry wrote to his wife. He next reveals how he recently had perched in a helicopter door, firing his rifle at men below: “We all were shooting. And we killed several ...”
“Lovely Anne, I love thee,” Berry closed. “Perhaps the best aspect of this whole period of separation is our increased appreciation and understanding of each other. I love thee, and I will devote the rest of my life to making love to thee.” He signs off: “Thy wearied professional, Sid.”
This time of year, communication from combat lines has long provided a poignant piece of Christmas.
Today's troops, for the most part, send their holiday wishes via email or Skype video chat sessions. But life was much different before technology began shadowing service men and women so far from home.
At the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pa., thousands of notes, authored by service members from conflicts past, are painstakingly stored in acid-free folders, tucked inside protective boxes, and categorized by family, forming numerous narrow rows flanked by shelves 10 feet high. Many of the correspondences, once jammed in attic boxes, have been donated to the archive. Museum directors retrieved several dozen Christmas missives for NBC News to review.
From the Civil War to the Vietnam War, troops ranging from privates to a general struck the same literary chords — no matter the success of their conflict, their era, or the location of their last battle. They often chronicle violence during a moment meant to celebrate peace. They typically express humor, perhaps to put families at ease. And they reveal yearnings to be back with gathered families and friends.
“A lot of people wrote letters to their mothers at Christmas. I guess it’s a time you really start to think about home, really start to think about where you come from,” said Conrad Crane, chief of historical services at the Army Heritage and Education Center.
Some of the letters offered to NBC News were were originally mailed to nieces, parents and wives.
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
John T. Cheney, an officer in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, wrote to his wife from Mississippi in 1862.
On Dec. 28, 1862, five months before the U.S. Army’s siege of Vicksburg, 1st Illinois Light Artillery Capt. John T. Cheney sat at a humid encampment, he wrote, near the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi and scribbled some lines to “My Dear Wife.” Her name was Mary. He also had two children at home at the time, including an 11-year-old son, military archives show. On now-yellowed paper in cursive style, Cheney mentioned to Mary that he was, “waiting to retreat” — revealing, however, he believed his unit “ought not to be compelled to do so.” He told her that he and his men were living off of half bread rations and three-quarter meat rations but he reassured her that he was “not yet out of medicine.” And he acknowledged that on Dec. 24 he had procured three gallons of whiskey for his men: “We had a very pleasant Christmas Eve.”
“I am quite well and could I only know that you were well at home I would be thankful,” Cheney wrote. Less than two years later, he would accompany Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous march on Atlanta. “I wish I could step in and stop with you all tonight ... Give my love to all of the friends and kiss the little ones for me a time or two ... Good night.”
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
While training to head to combat in World War I, Adam F. Glatfelter offered some soothing words to a niece.
Not surprisingly, the intended audience of each letter, Crane said, generally shaped the tone of words from the front. The museum has “steamy” notes from husbands to wives, he said, and fatherly notes to children.
On Dec. 26, 1917, Adam F. Glatfelter penned some thoughts to his niece, Carrie, from Camp Gordon in Atlanta. The training center was built to prepare men to head to the trenches of Europe to fight during World War I. In cursive hand, using a pencil, he told her of spending Christmas Day playing music with his military orchestra for the local bishop. He joked that his ensemble was quickly becoming “pretty popular” with folks in Atlanta. He listed his holiday meal: two turkey dinners. And he thanked her for sending a spool of thread.
“Do not worry about me,” he wrote, signing as “Uncle Frank.”
Holiday menus — and pleas not to fret — color many Christmas letters home. On Dec. 25, 1944, Navy Pfc. Clark S. Crane dashed off a one-page note to his parents in a V-mail, short for “Victory Mail.” The system offered troops templates bordered by red ink. Their words would be censored by the military — a stamp in one corner validated the content had been approved — then copied to film and printed back to paper before being placed in the U.S. mail.
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
A V-Mail from Navy sailor Clark Crane, sent at Christmas 1944 to his parents.
Crane was anchored near the Philippines at the time, according to the Army Heritage and Education Center, although his letter notes he was “Somewhere at Sea.” He tells his parents how he had “just finished extending season’s greetings ... good natured but well felt” to other men on board via a Christmas poem that he authored with another sailor. He offered one line for his folks.
“‘Shed a tear in your Christmas beer since there ain’t gonna be no egg in it this year.’ Pretty corny, eh?” Crane wrote, noting that was his third Christmas spent at war and away from his parents’ house at 285. N. Maple Ave. in Kingston, Pa.
“Lined up ... for Christmas dinner with tender turkey and cranberries on the menu,” he wrote. “All of it was very good but there was a deficit of brown skin and the savory smell of a Christmas turkey at good old 285 North Maple. Lots of Love, Clark.”
Another poem — albeit a modern, bloody take on the classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas” — formed a Christmas letter home from Douglas G. Anderson, then stationed in Korea. Neatly hand-written on green paper, the note contained no date or location. Records show he was an Army sergeant who would have been about 23 at the time.
Courtesy of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
A Christmas poem - about a battle - penned by Douglas G. Anderson from Korea.
“Twas the night before Christmas and all through the tent was the odor of fuel oil. The stovepipe was bent. The shoe pacs were hung by the oil stove with care in hope that they’d issue each man a new pair. The weary GIs were sacked out in their beds. Visions of sugar babes danced through their heads,” Anderson wrote.
“When up on the ridge-line there arose such a clatter, a Chinese machine gun had started to chatter. I rushed to my rifle and threw back the bolt, the rest of my tent mates arose with a jolt.” Staying in rhyme, Anderson described the orders shouted by his platoon sergeant, Kelly. " 'Get up on that on hilltop and silence that red and don’t you come back till you’re sure that he’s dead.' Then putting his thumb in front of his nose, Sergeant Kelly took leave of us shivering Joes. But we all heard him say in a voice soft and light ‘Merry Christmas to all, may you live through the night."
After the birth of the Internet and as modern service members waged war in Iraq during two conflicts and, now, in Afghanistan, the art of the Christmas letter home has largely been replaced by Skype sessions, said Col. Matt Dawson, director Army Heritage and Education Center.
In historic missives from combat zones, “people bared their souls,” Dawson said. Some of the authors couldn’t be sure that those words wouldn’t be the last their families would receive from them.
Today, such intimate moments are shared during one-one-one cyber chats that rarely, if ever, are saved — unless the troops use a new service called TroopTree.com in which they can record, upload and send personal video messages for family or friends, and do so at no cost.
In most cases, however, sweet sentiments shared during Skype sessions from war zones are simply here and gone.
“So in 20, 30 or 40 years," Dawson said, "when we’re looking for this kind of stuff from the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, it will be more difficult to find," — unless a service member takes time to mail a post card home, as Marine Sgt. Brian Snell did this month. He sent the card to his wife Liz and their two daughters. The front shows a red Christmas ornament stamped with an “Operation Enduring Freedom” logo, atop an American flag.
"Hey love, Hope you girls have a Merry Christmas and New Year. I miss you all,” Snell, 30, wrote to his family, who live in the San Diego area. This is his first deployment. He was sent to Afghanistan in autumn.
“There is something about being able to read his handwriting to make the world feel a little smaller, like he isn't on the other side of it,” Liz Snell said. “Unlike a phone call, a letter lingers. You can have a bad day, pick up the card, and he is here.”
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"The Coldest Winter" Loved the poem about Korea. Hat's off to all who missed and are missing family at this time.
This article is a timely reminder, of the very real personal touch that sending a letter to another brings. Like capturing a moment in time, which becomes for the receiver, a treasure which can be a great source of joy, comfort and appreciation repeatedly, as the river of time flows ever faster towards the ocean of eternity.
I had the opportunity years ago,to take home a trunk that someone was throwing away as they emptied out a home after the death of their father. The son let me have it. He hadn't even bothered to look inside before doing so. When he and I checked, it held many things from his father, a Naval officer stationed in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor. His father's officer's hat, mother's nurse uniform,Indian vest, and what appeared to be two scrapbooks, at least one with pictures of movie stars from the 1930's. He went to toss them, and I asked if I could keep them, which he allowed. The second scrapbook turned out to be quite a surprise. The love letters between his parents During WW2, while his father was on a battle ship in the Pacific.
Written on the only paper available, tissue protecting carbon paper for typing, or other scraps, the letters had drawings, cigar bands taped, coins and money from Japan. I was floored.Plus the husband wrote in the most poetic manner.Such as,"What a wondrous sunset tonight, all golden, reds with purple hues. Hardly any breeze, yet the ship is gently rocking. As if putting itself to sleep with the evening tide."
I tried to find the son to give him the letters back. But he had already left the area headed out of state. He had mentioned he wasn't on speaking terms with his father. How sad he hadn't even bothered to go through and check to see what treasure his father had. I turned the scrapbook over to a historical society in the area.
I do believe, with so many people moving away from the written word, a great loss is happening in our country. Not just with letters that aren't being sent.But with people taking time to think before they speak.In being able to ponder what is important to say, before they speak.In recognizing the impact we have on others in the harm words can do.Yet the great power they can be for doing great good as well. Last, the wonderful insights they offer, personal glimpses into different periods our lives.Which show our common humanity.
What a nice sentiment and story to share.Merry Christmas
Yes war and religion go hand in hand...
You would think NBC could come up with a better Christmas article....GUNS< WAR< CHRISTMAS - HOORAY!
The best letter i ever ready was the Western Union note my grandfather sent to my grandmother to inform her he was coming home.Despite the fact he was coming home,it took me years to undestand why she was furious with him for send a telegram in the 1st place.Now it is just a funny story but,to her back then it was a real fright and she chided him for years about it.
The dreaded Western Union Telegram message notifying of the death of a loved one.
You missed the point, It is about the bonds of love between people no matter how far away and how precarious the situation of one of them might be.
Shosyn
Boy, you managed to get that all twisted up...Troll?
I share your sentiments, For me some of my most prized possessions are letters from my mother,I can sit and read them and almost hear her voice, She has been gone for many years now but those letters are as much a direct link to her today as they were when she wrote them, I kept them with me throughout my time in Viet Nam and and they were what helped keep my sanity, Her words of loving comfort mean as much to me today as they did in 1967.
Merry Christmas and God Bless our Troops
I'll be back in the states for the next one.Been saying that for years but,next time it's gonna happen no matter what.
Thanks wolf- the best to you.
A special Thank You and Merry Christmas to our Service Members !
Span Centuries?
From the civil war till now??
Pretty sad statement for the human race. The only thing we have been absolutely consistent at throughout our entire history is killing each other in the name of greed, religion and insane politicians.
Pathetic.
That is a strange twisted view of the world.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell
@Dennis,
Not "twisted" at all. Just a fact. There's no way that anybody who knows human history could possibly deny it.
Your Orwell quote confirms it completely.
No poochoo,I was referring to your stated reasons for war. It is correct as far as religin being the most dangerous weapon of mass destruction ever invented, but that is more the result of its manipulation by those in power not an inherent evil. The human primate goes to war to protect or extend its resources, in defense of those resources, or to regain those resources. All tracing back to protecting the survival of the family unit/the tribal unit/the nation. Of course war has been the primary mover in history, it is a part of the only reason the human primate is still not a migratory hairless ape picking seeds from grass and eating grubs and huddling in fear from predators in the dark of night. To deny it is a genetic hardwired trait is like trying to make a hunting dog out of a chicken, or trying to turn a lion into grazing grass. It is not going to happen. Whats your point?
No Dennis, Wars are fought over greed for another's possessions, religious differences and/or the whim of some insane politician, king, pharaoh etc.
I do agree that it's hardwired into our evolution-ally defective brains though. Chimpanzees show the same tendencies and we come from the same line as they do.
Defense of Life,food and territory is one of the most basic of primal instincts, it is inherent in almost all life forms from the smallest of bacteria to the largest mammals on land and in sea, It is an instinct of survival, It has been perverted by some seeking power and control but those that fight against that are simply doing what is natural. To deny that is to deny life. Nothing can simply exist without conflict with something else, In the middle of a forest where no man has ever set foot there is a battle of survival going on between the species that are living there and the species that want to live there.
It is simply nature
It shows you are a tool too,J.It is also human nature to care for the weak,children,to fear many things.Whine the other 364 days.Oh shoot,last year was a leap year,going to bitch about that too?
When the Jesus-loving country is at war as always, invading and occupying small countries, you have to wonder how the Prince of Peace views it. Volunteer soldiers taking blood money, that's what the current crop is. At least soldiers in WW2 and other wars had something more honorable to say about what they're doing. The USA needs to get out of the war business and live up to its stated love of Jesus, the ultimate pacifist.
Karl, So sad that all you have is hate in your life.
pained1,
Calling people names and meaningless rants are a sign of emotional immaturity.
Grow up and get educated and you won't sound so ignorant and misinformed.
Karl .... But then it would just be replaced by some other nation, just as America replaced previous nations. The only reason America is in the position today is it was willing to accept the responsibility when Europe figured out it could stick the American taxpayer for the cost of its military responsibilities as the only way to extend the economic lifetime of its socialist state. Who else is there to restrain the goals of the mideast fanatics like the invasion and rape of Kuwait for example? Who else could save afford the costs of stopping the genocides of the Balkins? Who else could have born the cost of preventing the entire Korean peninsula from the oppression of left wing extremists, or prevented the entire world from the horrors of Russian extremists? A civilization that can not defend its resources is doomed to be invaded by barbarian hordes and collapse.
You will notice of course that the so-called "jesus loving" states have any connection to many examples. That condition is just a blip on the history of the human primate that could go back to the hairy ancestor waving a stick in front of the tribe protecting its mate and children from the neighboring raiding party. Barbarian hordes invading, aboriginal American tribes, Chinese civilization, Rome .... the list is endless and any single belief system is just a tiny tiny dot.
LostInThePineBarrens,
So, in your metaphor of forest survival, it seems that you're saying that the attacking human group is of a different species than the defending human group. I didn't know that!
Anyway, what you said pretty much supports my contention that, basically, the human race is a hardwired-homicidal freak of nature.
Thanks.
Poochoo ... There is that weird world view again. I read the post of PineB in a total different way .... more as an example of the rule of nature that any species that will not defend its resources for its own offspring is doomed to extinction. The wolf pack against the neighboring pack for the hunting ground, the deer stag against raiding stag for the harem, the horse stallion, the lion pack, there is no species in existence I can think of that does not have the same basic instincts. What is the encroaching neighboring wolf pack but a member of the species trying to extend its territory for needed resources for the pack? Even those with poorly formed or lacking predators, like the DoDo or any of the extinct large animals of the Australian continent, had the same instinct against its own species. Simplistic dreams of unobtainable and undesirable Utopia that can never be realised is self-destructive for any species.
Dennis, Thank you for understanding,
Poochoo you just seem to be one who thinks that man is inherently evil, It is not, It is simply doing what every other living organism on this planet does including yourself whether you want to believe it or not, Your only option to not participate in the world is to opt out.
The rule of nature is survival of the fittest.
Still a tool.
Karl, I'm so sad that your so 'delusional' and out of touch with reality! So you have people in the world who would kill, rape, pillage, and destroy our country....and you call the men and women who 'volunteer' for service as taking 'blood money'? Your post does not deserve any other consideration!
Dennis,
Nothing weird about my view at all. I just see things as they are - not through some fantasy specs that allow some folks to deny the facts.
I participate in human affairs as little as reasonably possible. That's the best I can do.
NJ John,
Karl is absolutely right (although the "blood money" part is a little harsh).
I don't remember Iraq or Afghanistan, or any other country other than Japan, invading, raping, pillaging etc. this country after WWI, yet we have invaded many countries since then and succeeded in destroying several of them- and gotten our self-righteous asses kicked a few times - just to impose our brand of "democracy".
There was one psychotic Jihadist and his equally crazy followers who attacked the World Trade Center and some other sites, but that's about it.
Your statement seems pretty misguided to me.
You see them how you see them, That does not mean that what you are seeing is actually what is happening, Your views are subjective.
If that were true then it is highly unlikely you would be engaging in or participating in this conversation, You are no different that most of the rest of us, You just think you are different.
LostInThePineBarrens
I know I'm different. That's all there is to it, and I have no problem with that.
I've formed my opinions based on unvarnished reality. Some others apparently see something completely different. That's their problem.
Believe whatever makes you feel good and works for you, it makes no difference in the real world.
When my grandmother passed away we found the letters that my dad had sent home while he was in the Army Airforce during World War II. They are keep sakes as it gave an in sight on what he was thinking and feeling during this time. With modern Technology future sons and daughters will miss this.
I walked into a book store not that long ago and when the clerk informed me that many books are not available in a printed format but electronic "E-Book" section might contained it it scared me about the future. The first thought I had was that after the inevitable collapse of our civilization from the results of the leftist agenda, just as with every other civilization that follows that self-destructive agenda, what will the future think of this civilization?
There will be a massive massive reduction in world population and a long period that will make the dark ages following the fall of Rome appear to be a golden age by comparison. Bandit hordes will rise once again and the strongest again turned into kings and after the times of tyranny, slavery, oppression and hardship once again somewhere a people will rise in to freedom and science will once again have the luxury of trying to understand the past. One of the main ways to do that is through written records, of which there will be none. Even after electricity and travel once more becomes common there will be no way to understand how todays medium is read. For the first time there will be even less records than periods when only the privileged few scribes in court kept records. Will they conclude the common individual was illiterate? If so will they be that wrong? Will they conclude that only a few officials of the court system knew the secret of the written language for purposes of taxation and law enforcement?
Anyway it is a sad sad thought that this era records are all on a fragile and temporary medium that requires a complicated and hard to reproduce means to read that will not be available. Even today, with full knowledge of the use and means of acess, how many could retrieve records from a floppy disc from 20 years ago?
Actually, there are those who have already taken steps, having looked into the future at what you speak of. Buried deep in the Rocky Mountains, in massive caverns miles long are records.Most people aren't even aware of this.
It has been going on for decades, with records constantly being updated and in several forms. There are also other sites in other countries. Even seeds being stored in special places, preserving these fragile life forms and heritages from around the world.So it isn't just certain knowledge being collected like records, letters, samplings and events recorded. But also history, so this is not lost to man's future offspring.And he be left starting from scratch if the worst befall us one day.
Geez, Dennis
I hope I never walk into that same bookstore...if it makes you see all that @!$%#e you're better off stopping for a donut.
Handwritten letters touch the soul like no email ever could. It's almost like they've painted a picture and you can look at it over and over.
Amen to that Moody, Amen to that!
May God bless all our military hero's, men and women, past, present, and future!
One thing about being in the military away from home & family is you find yourself with a lot of time to fill on your hands. You can do it by using a soon-to-be-forgotten Skype conversation for a few minutes if that's available, or you can work on a long letter home, thinking about what it is you're really wanting to say and telling everyone on paper for posterity's sake what is really going on in your world, or better yet, getting one from home, transporting you out of your mundane existence for a lot longer time. I still cherish the letters I have from long dead people to remind me of what was going on in my life back then. Hard to know where you're going if you can't remember where you've been.
I mourn the loss of the written word yet find myself typing away to dash off an e-mail to someone. Thanks for sharing the stories that have been stored away for so many years.
Wars make widows and orphans of children,and even kill children,and Jesus says if you do it to one of the little children you do it to me.Remember,Media glorifies wars,every country's Mediad does it.
Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his day as turning as many away
from God as they do to God.Man takes God's power of life or death as in wars and
turns as many away from God as to God,even when he kills many to save many,when
the Bible teaches that all life is precious and sacred to God,not just certain
life,not just some life,but all life.
So tell me Al ..... Just what would you suggest those with that belief system do when those without the same invade bent on making widows of the wives to order rape and further their own tribe? The ones who do violence in order to make slaves of of the children of those peaceful followers of that bent? That reasoning is just another unrealistic chasing of a Utopia that can never exist. One of the major reasons of conflict is resources yet that belief system promotes over-population and destruction of resources. Go forth and multiply has its roots in strengthening the tribe against its neighbors but at some point it is the cause of destruction of the tribe.
Wars make widows and orphans of children,and even kill children,and Jesus says if you do it to one of the little children you do it to me.Remember,Media glorifies wars,every country's Media does it. Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his day as turning as many away from God as they do to God.Man takes God's power of life or death as in wars and turns as many away from God as to God,even when he kills many to save many,when
the Bible teaches that all life is precious and sacred to God,not just certain life,not just some life,but all life.
During my only Christmas in 'Nam, I was on a Special Ops mission. I missed my mother, father and hoped my two brothers, also in 'Nam at the time, were safe and sound. I missed those of my family back home. Because of the type of job I had, I never wrote letters home, although I composed some, unable to mail them. I guess my wife of the time had sent some, but again, due to the job, I was unable to receive them.
Doing Black Ops most of the times I was there, there was nothing to think about but keeping my fellow soldiers safe and sound, all the while thinking - hopefully there would be no NVA or Charlie there trying to kill us, or myself, since I led the mission.
Christmas was miserable that year. I missed home terribly, as did my men. We sat down for a cigarette break and sort of talked about the day for the fifteen minute break, then went about our business.
I hope this doesn't make people sad. I've learned to live with it, at least to a degree. It was miserable, but our spirits were fairly high, with the thought that the mission was only a few days from being finished and we could, hopefully, be safe behind the wire. I of course would be in the blockhouse writing about the mission, how it fared, how the men and myself handled it, and what we did for Christmas. With the exception of talking that single time, we did our best to put our thoughts on the mission. We completed it, got back to relative safety behind the wire. Getting there safely, with all hands intact, was at least a great present.
I finish this with the thoughts of those men, along with other men on other missions, how they're handling this time of year. I hope they have a good, not good but great, holiday season
And finally, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. I appreciate the poem from Clement Moore. It kinda sums up the thoughts, along with 'Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus'.
So again, Happy Holidays to all and stay safe. Staying safe, and being with family, is the best present of all.
yes Karl - today's soldiers, sailors, airmen & marines are all volunteer - maybe the draft should be reinstated so you could cry out as an objector & flee the country? I volunteered & I am not paid with blood money - your freedom / rights & RESPONSIBILITIES as an American were paid for by the blood of many a US soldier - so everything you enjoy as an American today is from anothers blood...
Green ... very well stated. What those who think there is some kind of "right" owed them in some obscure way by nature, including life itself, forget is those "rights" come with responsibilities. The "right" to what a government provides come with the responsibility to work and contribute. The "right" to free-speech comes with the responsibility to think before you use it. The "right" to vote comes with a responsibility to vote wisely. The "right" to sit and complain in peace to provide for your family about citizens who do take the responsibilities by protecting your life comes with the responsibility of being willing to protect the life of others the same way. It is foolish and simple-minded to expect to retain any "right" when you are unwilling to accept responsibility to protect ...... Nature doesnt care one way or the other.
I do think that a universal period of military service can be a good thing though. That way there would be no way for a citizen not to realise just what the cost of a "right" is.
.
Merry Christmas to our Troops!
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Godspeed!
Too bad this is only a sample of American letters. For a better sense of humanity, of a common connection, other nations and their pointless wars should have been included. For all the sentiment, this article essentially views the United States as the only country worth mentioning on the planet. Typical.
And your point is?
Between church bells and ears of the minaret,........ humanity and love ,.......... wars stopped and a new hopes started ............... with the new light of new year
Make Love - Not War! Peace On - Mankind! {:-)}
My Great Aunt was the teenage bride of a teenage WWI soldier. As we were cleaning out her home after her death, we came across the letters he wrote her during the war. With great reluctance, we burned the letters. This sweet Southern Baptist lady would roll over in her grave if she knew that anybody else read those steamy GRAPHIC love letters. (Their marriage lasted over 60 years, til his death.)
I must correct this article, Camp Gordon was and is(Fort Gordon) located in Augusta,Ga not Atlanta. I was stationed there as was my husband.
I must make a creation, Camp Gordon aka Fort Gordon is and always has been located in Augusta GA not Atlanta. I was stationed there along with my husband.