FSogol's 2018 Advent Calendar Day 1: A U.S. soldier dressed as St. Nick for kids in war-torn

[FSogol]

Luxembourg. They never forgot him.

St. Nicholas Day was approaching in 1944 when Harry Stutz and Richard Brookins, corporals in the U.S. Army’s 28th Infantry Division, arrived in newly liberated Luxembourg.

The two soldiers had survived a harrowing battle in Germany’s Hurtgen Forest, where their unit suffered 60 percent casualties. Now their division had been sent to Wiltz, a small town in northern Luxembourg, to recover.

SNIP

“A young corporal from the U.S. Army’s 28th Infantry division called Richard Brookins decided to bring cheer to the children of the town by dressing up as St. Nicholas,” Juncker said.

“I didn’t know who Saint Nicholas was, so I didn’t know what he did, and I didn’t want to spoil it for the kids,” Brookins told The Washington Post. After some cajoling by Stutz, Brookins relented, but he balked again when he realized that he had to wear a costume: the local priest’s robes, a beard made of rope, a staff and a bishop’s miter. On Dec. 5, Brookins was driven through Wiltz in an Army jeep flanked by two local girls dressed as angels. They visited the town’s schools where children sang and G.I.s passed out sweets.

The town revered Brookins so much that they reenact the event yearly and have invited him back several times.

Entire story by Patrick Martin here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/07/28/a-u-s-soldier-dressed-as-st-nick-for-kids-in-war-torn-luxembourg-they-never-forgot-him/?utm_term=.e7d12bf1e9bf&wpisrc=nl_optimist&wpmm=1

Video, including footage from 1944 here.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/a4c68206-91d6-11e8-ae59-01880eac5f1d

About my Advent Calendar Project: I started this last year (2017) and wrote something about Christmas each day of the advent. I started it with: Put me in the group that loves Christmas. While not being particularly religious (I did have a Lutheran upbringing), I've always enjoyed this time of year. To count down, I'll post a daily post here in the lounge with something, usually offbeat about Christmas.

My index of stories from last year with links:

1. The Scientific Reason Why Reindeer Have Red Noses
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181012082
2. Deleted scene from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181012472
3: The origin of writing letters to Santa
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181012791
4: A Brief History of Gingerbread
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181013210
5: History of the Kissing Ball
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181013422
6: Santa's Home, Workshop, and Mailbox
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181013803
7: Vintage Christmas traditions from the 1950s and 1960s
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181014038
8: Don't Forget Santa's Milk and Cookies
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181014602
9: Things you might not know about tinsel
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181015288
10: Dreaming of a Green Christmas
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181015840
11: Origin of the Christmas Tree
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181016351
12: Who invented electric Christmas lights?
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181016810
13: Creation Myths of the Candy Cane
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181017173
14: How did coal become the gift choice for the naughty kids?
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181017503
15: A Brief History of Advent Calendars
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181018050
16: Why does Christmas get abbreviated to Xmas?
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181018440
17: The Nutcracker
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181018771
18: Life Lessons From Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181019137
19: Why is Christmas Day on the 25th December?
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181019627
20: The origin of Christmas Cookies
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/10181020059
21: Origin of The Yule Log
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181020388
22: Origin of Santa's Reindeer
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181020770
23: The Origin of Santa Claus
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181021075
24: Twas The Night Before Christmas
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181021499
25: Merry Christmas and the Origin of the Nativity Play
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181021831

[rurallib]

1. I have got to catch up on all this

Thanks for your research.

[FSogol]

2. Thanks, it's been fun. n/t