The Loneliest Watch

Christmas 2025

The Loneliest Watch

(December 24^th, 1970 – Nice, France aboard the USS Chilton)

In 1970, I celebrated Christmas on board the U.S. Chilton in Nice, France. It was during the height of the Vietnam War, and military personnel were being asked to do more with less. Part of that frugality was repeated deployments to potential combat zones with only short rest and relaxation periods in between. This was my second deployment in less than a year. In many ways, it was similar to what our troops have experienced recently in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Terry and I had married on March 28^th, 1970, and we were celebrating our first Christmas separated by thousands of miles of open ocean. I didn’t even have money for a trans-Atlantic phone call. I was the duty corpsman on board the ship waiting for the predictable influx of slightly - heavily inebriated sailors and marines. Feeling at loose ends and missing home very much, I took my trusty Yashica camera and snapped this picture of a young sailor who was probably sharing my misery but was very much on guard to protect his fellow sailors and marines from harm.

It was at this point that I began to think less of my personal sense of loneliness and more of the important service and personal sacrifice that many individuals make each year so that we can enjoy the joyous season of Christmas. Service men and women, firefighters, police, hospital personnel, and many other public servants must work on important holidays such as Christmas so that we can celebrate the season with our families in good health and safety.

We tend to associate Christmas with warm feelings of family and sharing. It is important to remember in the midst of our joy that there are many of our friends and loved ones who quietly stand watch so that our holiday is safe and that we can enjoy the season, no matter where we are or in whatever corner of the globe we find ourselves.

The Quiet Guardians of Christmas

As we gather around decorated trees and laden tables, as children tear open presents and families reunite after months or years apart, countless individuals are ensuring that our celebrations can happen safely. They are the invisible framework upon which our holiday joy is built, often working through the very hours when the rest of us are most deeply immersed in celebration.

Consider the emergency room nurses and doctors who trade their own family gatherings for hospital shifts, ready to respond when accidents happen or medical crises appear. They know that Christmas Day brings its own challenges: cooking mishaps, holiday-related stress, and elderly relatives who’ve traveled despite fragile health. While we’re celebrating, they’re saving lives, as they should be.

Police officers patrol quiet streets and respond to calls that don’t pause for holidays. Domestic disputes often intensify during family gatherings. Loneliness peaks. Someone needs to answer when 911 rings, even at midnight on Christmas Eve.

Our military service members stand watch on bases around the world, from scorching deserts to frozen outposts, far from the homes they’re protecting. They video call their families if the time zones and connection permit, holding babies through screens, watching children open presents in real-time or on delayed recordings. They carry the weight of missing these irreplaceable moments so that others don’t have to.

This Christmas, as we settle into our celebrations, perhaps we might pause for a moment of genuine gratitude. We might think of these quiet guardians not as abstractions but as individuals: as someone’s daughter working a double shift, someone’s father missing his child’s first Christmas, someone’s spouse choosing duty over comfort.

We can express this gratitude in concrete ways. A simple thank you to the nurse checking us in, the officer directing traffic, or the store clerk ringing up our last-minute purchase carries more weight than we might imagine. Recognizing their service costs little but means a great deal when it is recognized and appreciated. During this season of giving, we might also consider supporting organizations that serve the needs of the homeless by offering a warm place to sleep and food to nourish their bodies and spirits.

So, as we count our blessings this Christmas, let’s include them in our gratitude. Let’s remember that our peace and safety, our ability to gather and celebrate, rests in part on their willingness to stand watch while we rest, to work while we play, to sacrifice so we don’t have to.