Zulu Posted December 23, 1999 Share Posted December 23, 1999 Twas the night before Christmas and over there and back, not a Tiger was stirring, not even a track. The tankers hung by their tubes in despair, with hopes that the Yanks soon would be there. The loaders were nestled all cramped in their beds, while visions of burning Ronson’s danced in their heads. When out in the Last Defence there arose such a clatter, The crews sprang to their posts to see what was the matter. And what to wondering eyes should appear, but a platoon of M4’s coming seemingly loaded for bear. The TC’s smiled with experience so rare, They said to their gunners, “AP up and target over there”. More rapid than eagles, the M4’s they came, and they heard the Ami’s calling their tanks by name. On Able! On Baker! On Charlie! On Dog! On Easy! Get Moving! Drink some more grog? The lead TC’s eyes were glazed over, hand holding a bottle, He leaned to his driver and said ‘‘Keep her at full throttle”. A wink of his eye and a twitch of his head, “Germans don’t shoot”, the Platoon Commander said. He spoke not a word, but went pointed behind his back, On the M4’s deck was a huge red sack. And pulling his knife from amongst his gear, He slit open the sack and exposed all the beer. On the other M4’s they repeated the scene, Soon the beer was flowing, if you know what I mean. The guns pointed away, to the north and the south, More beer was passed out, from hand to the mouth. All too soon, the festivities were over, and the beer was all gone, So the troops saddled up, for soon it would be dawn. They waved at each other as they drove out of sight, Not today comrades, but on another day, they would fight! Merry Christmas to all. And good hunting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Beman Posted December 23, 1999 Share Posted December 23, 1999 THAT, Zulu, was VERY well done. I've read accounts of units that would mutually agree to lay off during holidays. I've also heard lots of stories of combat pilots who would come across badly damaged enemy planes struggling for home, and, instead of finishing off the cripple, would fly alongside for a while. One in particular sticks in my mind; a German fighter pilot followed a B17 until the bomber ditched in the Channel; the German pilot then contacted an English station and gave them a few minutes of chatter so they could get a radio fix on the bomber's crew. Myth? It sure would be nice if it were fact. It'd be nice to know that good things like that happen even in war, and not just around Christmas. DjB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS_PanzerLeader Posted December 24, 1999 Share Posted December 24, 1999 Excellent recreation of the poem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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