American Eagle
MILITARY PROFESSIONAL
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At age 72, sitting in the USA, I look back on two USAF active duty era Christmases spent in Pakistan.
Christmas 1963 was spent both in Karachi, where I was based at the US Embassy, and in Peshawar, my higher headquarters. In Peshawar, Air Chief Marshal Ashgar Khan brought the Pakistani Frontier Division Military (Bagpipes) Band to our Badabur base, to the Officers Club of the 6937th USAF Security Service Communications Group. I was a newly minted Second Lieutenant with one year's active service since commissioning. We were regailed with traditional Christmas melodies that would work using bagpipes, and a good time was enjoyed by all. I still remember the beautiful setting with one wall of the Officers Club being a huge plate glass window looking out on the snow covered ground and on that moonlit clear night on K-2 shining with it's snow in the distance.
Back in Karachi, 1963, Canadian Colonel (Military Attache of Canada) George Peter Marriott hosted Pakistani and Western officers and foreign service officials in his quarters where his wife and daughter (my age) helped hostess our refreshments. Mrs. Marriott had the house staff clean up, plaster, and white wash the inside of her fireplace. Not realizing the vulnerability of the newly pastered over firebricks, Mrs. Marriott had her house staff build a roaring fire...it was over 90 degrees outside that night...and after about 10 minutes of heat from the burning logs the plastered walls of the fireplace started to explode into bits and pieces like shrapnel, with loud "bangs" as the plaster flew out and all around the living room! Everyone ducked for cover until the fireplace was extinguished with buckets of water. WE all were polite, pretended nothing had happened, and the festivities and then evening meal around midnight proceeded. What a first Christmas Eve in Karachi!
Christmas 1964 found me, now a First Lieutenant, USAF, and housemate Captain Gerald P. Stadley, USA, Aide de Camp to USMAAG Major General George Ruhlen, USA (who helped capture the bridge at Remagen, Germany, under General Patton in WW II, and who as a Lt. Colonel of Armor led Patton's tanks almost to Prague at the end of WW II before General Eisenhower order Patton's Army to halt as the war had ended.)
Captain Stadler and I decided our USMAAG staff house needed a "Christmas tree." So I drove Gerry in my USAF staff car out to Clifton where Gerry displayed his paratrooper and Ranger skills by climbing an "evergreen looking" tree and sawing off several large branches to be bundled into our Christmas tree. The last branch cut feel across the phone line to the land owners home! Out from a nearby mansion came a dignified Pakistani businessman who asked us what in the world we were doing in his tree and yard? Both Gerry and I apologized, explained our homesick hunt for a Christmas tree, and made spot restitution for the owners estimate of cost of repair of his downed phone line. We were lucky the home and land owner did not call the police on us!!!
Back at the staff house on Dec. 23, 1964 two days before Christmas we bound the cut ever green tree branches with wire into a bundle somewhat resembling a Christmas tree. Then we somehow, somewhere found Christmas lights and decorations, which I suspect were Eid lights and decorations in other hands, and together with our two US Navy Lieutenant house mates we decorated the tree.
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1964, we invited Gerry's boss, his wife, and two baby sons, along with numerous other US MAAG, Attache, and Foreign Service Personnel to the presentation of our "Christmas tree." Every one was having a great time, light food was being served by house bearers, when all of a sudden a loud SNAP was heard! The wire holding the tensioned tree branches together in a bundle had just snapped...and tree limbs separately shot around our staff house living room.
Summarized, both my Christmases in Pakistan we managed to have small "explosions" in the rooms where we were partying. I'd say between the two Christmases that Canadian Colonel Peter Marriott's exploding plaster fireplace firebox walls was the more dramatic event. The snapping apart of our man made Christmas tree was more of a hilarious but not dangerous Christmas event.
Both Christmas days, 1963 and 1964, I found time to go swim in 95 degree weather at the beach off Samniani, away from the City of Karachi. A large part of the Diplomatic missions from all diplomatic legations residing in Karachi were at the beach both Christmas days.
And now, in 2011, I wish all serving inside Pakistan, Afghanistan, and overseas worldwide in US, Allied, [to include all the Pakistani branches of their military services] a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2012.
Colonel George L. Singleton, USAF, Retired
USA
1963-1965 I was Commander, Detachment 2, 6937th USAFSS Communications Group, based
in the US Embassy, Karachi, then West Paksitan.
Christmas 1963 was spent both in Karachi, where I was based at the US Embassy, and in Peshawar, my higher headquarters. In Peshawar, Air Chief Marshal Ashgar Khan brought the Pakistani Frontier Division Military (Bagpipes) Band to our Badabur base, to the Officers Club of the 6937th USAF Security Service Communications Group. I was a newly minted Second Lieutenant with one year's active service since commissioning. We were regailed with traditional Christmas melodies that would work using bagpipes, and a good time was enjoyed by all. I still remember the beautiful setting with one wall of the Officers Club being a huge plate glass window looking out on the snow covered ground and on that moonlit clear night on K-2 shining with it's snow in the distance.
Back in Karachi, 1963, Canadian Colonel (Military Attache of Canada) George Peter Marriott hosted Pakistani and Western officers and foreign service officials in his quarters where his wife and daughter (my age) helped hostess our refreshments. Mrs. Marriott had the house staff clean up, plaster, and white wash the inside of her fireplace. Not realizing the vulnerability of the newly pastered over firebricks, Mrs. Marriott had her house staff build a roaring fire...it was over 90 degrees outside that night...and after about 10 minutes of heat from the burning logs the plastered walls of the fireplace started to explode into bits and pieces like shrapnel, with loud "bangs" as the plaster flew out and all around the living room! Everyone ducked for cover until the fireplace was extinguished with buckets of water. WE all were polite, pretended nothing had happened, and the festivities and then evening meal around midnight proceeded. What a first Christmas Eve in Karachi!
Christmas 1964 found me, now a First Lieutenant, USAF, and housemate Captain Gerald P. Stadley, USA, Aide de Camp to USMAAG Major General George Ruhlen, USA (who helped capture the bridge at Remagen, Germany, under General Patton in WW II, and who as a Lt. Colonel of Armor led Patton's tanks almost to Prague at the end of WW II before General Eisenhower order Patton's Army to halt as the war had ended.)
Captain Stadler and I decided our USMAAG staff house needed a "Christmas tree." So I drove Gerry in my USAF staff car out to Clifton where Gerry displayed his paratrooper and Ranger skills by climbing an "evergreen looking" tree and sawing off several large branches to be bundled into our Christmas tree. The last branch cut feel across the phone line to the land owners home! Out from a nearby mansion came a dignified Pakistani businessman who asked us what in the world we were doing in his tree and yard? Both Gerry and I apologized, explained our homesick hunt for a Christmas tree, and made spot restitution for the owners estimate of cost of repair of his downed phone line. We were lucky the home and land owner did not call the police on us!!!
Back at the staff house on Dec. 23, 1964 two days before Christmas we bound the cut ever green tree branches with wire into a bundle somewhat resembling a Christmas tree. Then we somehow, somewhere found Christmas lights and decorations, which I suspect were Eid lights and decorations in other hands, and together with our two US Navy Lieutenant house mates we decorated the tree.
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1964, we invited Gerry's boss, his wife, and two baby sons, along with numerous other US MAAG, Attache, and Foreign Service Personnel to the presentation of our "Christmas tree." Every one was having a great time, light food was being served by house bearers, when all of a sudden a loud SNAP was heard! The wire holding the tensioned tree branches together in a bundle had just snapped...and tree limbs separately shot around our staff house living room.
Summarized, both my Christmases in Pakistan we managed to have small "explosions" in the rooms where we were partying. I'd say between the two Christmases that Canadian Colonel Peter Marriott's exploding plaster fireplace firebox walls was the more dramatic event. The snapping apart of our man made Christmas tree was more of a hilarious but not dangerous Christmas event.
Both Christmas days, 1963 and 1964, I found time to go swim in 95 degree weather at the beach off Samniani, away from the City of Karachi. A large part of the Diplomatic missions from all diplomatic legations residing in Karachi were at the beach both Christmas days.
And now, in 2011, I wish all serving inside Pakistan, Afghanistan, and overseas worldwide in US, Allied, [to include all the Pakistani branches of their military services] a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2012.
Colonel George L. Singleton, USAF, Retired
USA
1963-1965 I was Commander, Detachment 2, 6937th USAFSS Communications Group, based
in the US Embassy, Karachi, then West Paksitan.
