[Rhodes22-list] My Favorite Christmas Story

[Tootle]

Hank,

Thank you, 

Ed K
Greenville, SC, USA



Brad Haslett-2 wrote:
> 
> 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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