Part 1 by David Staffa
My combat tour in Afghanistan was one of mixed feelings, especially around Christmastime. Christmas in America is celebrated as a holiday where festivity is everywhere.
What is Christmas in a combat zone? We were deployed near the Pakistan border so we were rocketed frequently and ground assaults did occur.
Save for an errant rocket, Christmas was quiet for us and we tried to make it festive. We installed chem lights on 550 cord in a triangular shape to create a makeshift Christmas tree. It stayed lit for two nights.
The best thing that occurred during the week before Christmas was the voluminous amount of Christmas mail from children in the United States.
The mail consisted of hand-made cards with well-wishing comments. It was a bit of home that gave us a good feeling.
Something remarkable and unusual caught my eye. It was a hand drawing of the character, Snoopy, with the words of “Snoopy vs the Red Baron” song written on a large bed sheet.
It was home-made and I could tell that someone took a great deal of time to ensure it was done correctly.
The only clue to this moving piece of artwork was a first name only by a young girl age of ten, named Gretchen. This artwork left a tremendous positive impression on me.
After the holiday, I wrapped up the Snoopy bed sheet and stowed it in my belongings. Returning home from the deployment, I carefully laid the artwork bed sheet in a secure place.
Each Christmas, I have brought it out and hung it on the wall as a heartfelt reminder of this little girl’s thoughtfulness. This occurred in 2011.
Fast forward to 2023.
I began a mission to track down this young girl who produced this artwork. Was she an artist today?
I wanted to thank her for making my Christmas in combat a little upbeat. I wondered if I could find her – an almost impossible task with no last name but I found a clue.
I glanced at the artwork again to see that she had signed it with her hometown of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. I always play the long shot in securing information so I e-mailed the mayor of that town.
In the e-mail, I advised Mason Strouse, Mayor of Clearfield Borough, of this artwork and what it meant to me. I asked him if he could ask around town to see if anyone knew this person who would now be around 24 years old.
A day passed and Strouse answered my e-mail and advised me that he knows Gretchen. He gave her my e-mail address and Gretchen and I made contact.
Gretchen surprised me in that she had an image of her posing with the artwork that she created before sending it to Afghanistan.
Gretchen is now 23 and is in an honored position as an elementary school teacher in Maryland. After our meaningful meeting via e-mail, we agreed to remain in contact.
Part 2 by Gretchen Yeager
It was a cold November afternoon when I arrived home from my day at school. My grandmother, Sue, got home shortly after me.
She excitedly told me that she had gotten a bunch of bed sheets donated from a local hotel.
She worked at our high school at the time, and was passing them out to students to decorate for troops in Afghanistan.
We brainstormed together and came up with the idea of drawing snoopy along with the “Red Baron” song. I worked on my drawing for hours on the kitchen floor and my grandma neatly wrote out the song.
My mother took a picture of me, very proud of my hard work. She posted to Facebook with the caption “Gretchen’s picture for Operation Santa.”
Over 14 years had gone by until one night I received an unusual message from our mayor. He said that the veteran who had received my sheet all those years ago wanted to thank me for helping bring a little holiday spirit during those hard times.
I was so excited that my gift from all those years ago really did make a difference. It has been wonderful to talk with David and get to know more about his life.
I think that his story is incredibly inspiring and I am so glad I was able to connect with him.
Gretchen lives in Maryland with her fiance, Justin and their dog, Gatsby. She works in an elementary school as a kindergarten teacher.
This experience of her artwork and connection with a soldier has shown her, once again, that it’s a small world and small gestures can have a huge impact.
David Staffa lives in Clermont, Fla. After 30-plus years in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces soldier, he retired.
His past-time includes assisting veterans and he has just published his first book available on Amazon, The Last Deployment: Afghanistan.