[Rhodes22-list] Fwd: My Favorite Christmas Story

[Brad Haslett]

Hank,

Wonderful story! Thanks for sharing.

Brad

On Jan 6, 2008 10:21 PM, Hank <hnw555 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Rhodies,
>
> My uncle just sent this to me and I think you guys will enjoy it.
>
> Hank
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Neil
> Date: Jan 6, 2008 11:14 PM
> Subject: My Favorite Christmas Story
> To: ". Friends"
>
>
> My favorite Christmas story
>
> THIS IS A GOOD ONE THAT I JUST RECEIVED. HOPE YOU ENJOY IT AS MUCH.
>
> Here's a 'today' Yule story that occurred 3 weeks ago ~ AND NOW, in time
> for
> the holidays, I bring you the best Christmas story you never heard.
>
> It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed
> by
> sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops. "We
> have to let them know we care," Vivian told Bennett. So they organized a
> trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda
> Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3.
>
> The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it. Yes, there
> are
> people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin -
> native
> Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish - is
> one
> of them.
>
> He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and
> white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at
> his Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried
> John
> F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and '62. Later, it carried his
> brother Bobby's body to D. C. for burial. "That's a lot of history for one
> car," says Bennett.
>
> He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975,
> during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country
> directly to the stadium where the annual game is played. The Levins could
> think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the
> wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D. C. and Bethesda, in
> Maryland. "We wanted to give them a first-class experience," says Bennett.
> "Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the
> stadium, perfect seats - real hero treatment."
>
> Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett
> met with Walter Reed's commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett
> had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops
> alone:
>
> No press on the trip, lest the soldiers' day of pampering devolve into a
> media circus.
>
> No politicians either, because, says Bennett, "I didn't want some idiot
> making this trip into a campaign photo op."
>
> And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy
> saluting superiors to relax.
>
> The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a
> problem
> on his hands. "I had to actually make this thing happen," he laughs.
>
> Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars
> from around the country - these people tend to know each other - into
> lending their vehicles for the day. The name of their temporary train? The
> Liberty Limited.
>
> Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D. C. - where they'd be
> coupled
> together for the round-trip ride to Philly - then back to their owners
> later.
>
> Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA
> drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to
> Lincoln
> Financial Field, for the game.
>
> A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game - on the
> 50-yard line - and lunch in a hospitality suite.
>
> And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity,
> goodie bags for attendees:
>
> >From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Wal-Mart, digital cameras. From
> Nikon,
> field glasses, from GEAR, down jackets.
>
> There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too,
> since
> each was allowed to bring a friend or family member.
>
> The Marines, though, declined the offer. "They voted not to take guests
> with
> them, so they could take more Marines," says Levin, choking up at the
> memory.
>
> Bennett's an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he'd react to
> meeting the 88 troops and guests at D. C.'s Union Station, where the trip
> originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or
> accompanied by medical personnel for the day. "They made it easy to be
> with
> them," he says. "They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce
> of
> self-pity from any of them. They're so full of life and determination."
>
> At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even
> Army's lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group's rollicking mood.
>
> Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal - heroes
> get hungry, says Levin - before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda.
> "The
> day was spectacular," says Levin. "It was all about these kids. It was
> awesome to be part of it."
>
> The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them
> goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station.
>
> "One of the guys was blind, but he said, 'I can't see you, but man, you
> must
> be f---ing beautiful!'" says Bennett. "I got a lump so big in my throat, I
> couldn't even answer him."
>
> It's been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling
> the
> day's love. "My Christmas came early," says Levin, who is Jewish and who
> loves the Christmas season. "I can't describe the feeling in the air."
> Maybe
> it was hope.
>
> As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, "The fond
> memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all - whatever the future
> may bring."
>
> God bless the Levins.
>
> And bless the troops, every one.
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