Christmas is a tough time for Brats. No doubt about it. But some of us had it a little better than others. As a dependent of a USN swabbie, I can vouch-safe for the efforts of the USMC in trying to make do with very little.

If the average Marine has only the most basic equipment with which to go into combat, then you might think that Santa would be a no-go situation.

Not so. I remember Santa as a very efficient kind of guy, definitely dressed in Scarlet and packing a bag of goodies so huge that it took a Huey type chopper to bring them in. (Which very nicely took care of any explanations regarding reindeer.)

And if the jolly old elf wore combat boots it wasn't us Brats who noticed anything out of place. Seemed natural to us!

To this day, Christmas isn't quite right for me until I've made a drop at the USMC Toys for Tots.