A GI’S CHRISTMAS CAROL – TOKYO ARMY HOSPITAL 1954 IS A ONE-DAY EXHIBIT OF THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY FAMILY

Sunday, December 22 from 12:00 noon till 3:00 pm

         Tokyo Army Hospital, December 1954 – Patient Paul Zolbrod, a Jewish Korean War veteran, while convalescing from a mysterious disease which nearly killed him,  is surrounded by Turkish United Nations soldiers hospitalized with hemorrhagic fever. Their mutual circumstances of war, disease, and hospitalization, along with other patients, brought their customs, faiths, and countries together just in time for Christmas that year.

         Paul’s story – “A GI’s Christmas Carol”– is told in 30 hand-collaged panels of vintage photos, publications, original art and text about that time and that place in 1954 when Muslims, Jews, and Christians all celebrated a very special Christmas together in Japan.

         Paul, the Museum Emeritus Writer-in-Residence, will be on hand throughout the three-hour exhibit to interact with visitors. This heartwarming story assures, that for a while at least, the “Forgotten War” will not be forgotten.

         Visitors can also tour the other museum exhibits, including the story of the Department of Defense schools around the world and two special exhibits telling what it’s like to be a military spouse and to grow up as a military kid.

         Admission to the exhibit and museum is free: donations gratefully accepted.

Exhibit hours are 12:00 noon till 3:00 pm. Sponsors for A GI Christmas Carol-Tokyo Army Hospital 1954 include Rich Ford, Albuquerque, NM, Robert Farley Insurance, South Bend, IN and the American Legion Post 17, Espanola, NM. 

The Museum of the American Military Family is at 546B State Highway 333 (Old Route 66) in Tijeras (right next to Molly’s) seven miles east of Tramway.