Scoop’s Views

Special Forces, families invited to help Caroline Kennedy with Christmas book

Soldiers and family members from the entire Army are invited to participate in Caroline Kennedy’s Christmas book project.

Members of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) are free to submit their stories, poems, letters and other writings that deal with Christmas in wartime. All USASOC soldier entries must be submitted to the individual?s public affairs office by July 2, 2007.

Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg is the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, one of the earliest supporters of Special Forces. It was her father, the late President Kennedy, who granted official permission for the now world-recognized “green beret,”^{[1], [2]} the unit’s namesake.

In announcing the book, she said she is planning a Christmas anthology scheduled to be published this Fall.

Along with the materials submitted by soldiers and family members, the book will contain religious material, carols and songs, historical, legal, and other light-hearted material, according to a press release issued by USASOC’s public affairs office.

Kennedy has a number of selections relating to the subject, including a letter written by George Washington, poems from the Civil War, and an example of the law banning the celebration of Christmas. She would like to include stories and materials from the current conflict in Iraq.

Submissions may also include articles from military newspapers, description of humanitarian efforts, prayers by military chaplains, and similar items, and the book project has the support of the USASOC Chief of Public Affairs.

Deadline for submissions is July 2, 2007. For more information, contact the USASOC Public Affairs Office at (910) 432-6005.

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Footnotes

1: Lt. Gen. William P Yarborough, the proverbial father of the Green Berets, pushed his hand with President John F. Kennedy to win the right for SF soldiers to wear the headgear that today is called green beret.

2: John F. Kennedy Library (online) Quotations page (scroll about one-third of the way down the page and look for the bold heading, Green Beret or do a simple search on the page to find the reference.)

“The green beret is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. I know the United States Army will live up to its reputation for imagination, resourcefulness, and spirit as we meet this challenge.” (President John F. Kennedy in a letter dated April 11, 1962, to the United States Army regarding Army Special Warfare)

Technorati tags: Special Forces, U.S. Army Special Forces, Green Berets, green beret, John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, USASOC, public affairs, books, George Washingtin, military newspapers, symbol of excellence