This website was created and maintained from May 2020 to May 2021 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Stars and Stripes operations in the Pacific.
It will no longer be updated, but we encourage you to explore the site and view content we felt best illustrated Stars and Stripes' continued support of the Pacific theater since 1945.
Christmas in Saigon: Troops found ways to stay cheerful in Vietnam
South Vietnam, December, 1967: Pfc. Orville Painter, 22, of Modesto, Calif., leans out of his bunker at Ka Tum, 50 miles northwest of Saigon, to hang his Christmas stocking. He jokingly pointed to the sky and said, "Santa Claus will assault from there." Painter is with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division.
By Stars and Stripes | December 21, 2017
Another holiday season is upon us and with it, plenty of reasons to hug our loved ones. Some people, like the deployed Marines, sailors, soldiers, airmen and Coast Guardsmen that make up the U.S. military will not get that chance this year. Yet, Christmas cheer knows no geopolitical boundaries.
We’ve showcased how the troops from World War I and World War II celebrated Christmas while deployed. Now take a look at how those fighting in the Vietnam War managed to keep the holiday cheer alive.
