What Do Patton, The Christmas Eve Truce and Trump Have in Common?

I believe these stories capture the importance of prayer at Christendom’s Celebration of the Miracle of the first Christmas.

The first occurred when General George S. Patton, commander during World War II, was faced with dire circumstances.  The coming winter would again be brutal, and Patton’s army was literally stuck in the mud.  The Wall Street Journal explains “on Dec. 8, an exasperated Patton asked his chief chaplain to compose a prayer for good weather” and halt the overwhelming rain.  Patton then “ordered 250,00 copies to be distributed to every man in the Third Army.  By Dec. 14 prayer cards were scattered among more than 20 divisions.” (WSJ, Alex Kershaw, Dec. 20, 2024).

Patton was a rough man given to constant profanity.  Kershaw quotes Brig. General Harry H. Semmes who deemed Patton “an unusual mixture of a profane and highly religious man.”  Gen. Omar Bradley is said to have described Patton as “profane, but he was also reverent.  He strutted imperiously as a commander, but he knelt humbly before his God.”  The thought of Patton ordering his 250,000 men to join him in a prayer is both inspiring and astounding.  It worked. “On Dec. 23rd, the skies cleared, allowing a massive Allied air force to wreak havoc on German forces and supply lines.” (WSJ).

The second story is “Truce in the Forest” — The Story of a World War II Christmas Eve Truce Between German & American Soldiers, by Fritz Vincken.

“When that first knock came, Mother quickly blew out the candles; then, as I went to answer it, she stepped ahead of me and pushed open the door. Outside … stood two steel-helmeted men.  One of them spoke to Mother in a language we did not understand, pointing to a third man lying injured in the snow. She realized … that these were American soldiers. Enemies!  Mother stood silent … they were armed and could have forced their entrance, yet they stood there and asked with their eyes.  “Kommt rein,” Mother said, finally. “Come in.”  

Imagine a scene such as this.  Enemy soldiers who couldn’t even communicate in the language being shown love, comfort and life saving aid.  It would be enough to stop there but it had only just begun.

Vincken continues “I was setting the table when once again there came a knock at the door. Expecting to find more lost Americans, I opened the door without hesitation. There stood four soldiers – Germans!

I was paralyzed with fear … I knew the harsh law: sheltering enemy soldiers constituted high treason. We could all be shot! Mother was frightened, too. Her face was white, but she stepped outside. “We have lost our regiment and would like to wait for daylight,” explained the corporal. “Can we rest here?”

“Of course,” Mother replied, “You can also have a fine, warm meal and eat till the pot is empty. “But,” Mother added firmly, “we have three other guests, whom you may not consider friends.” Now her voice was suddenly sterner than I’d ever heard it before. “This is Christmas Eve, and there will be no shooting here.  Mother looked at each frost-chilled face. “Listen,” she said slowly. “You could be my sons, and so could they in there … lost like you and just as hungry and exhausted as you are. This one night … this Christmas night, let us forget about killing.”

This remarkable woman then had the soldiers stack their weapons on the woodpile outside and they sat down for dinner. “Mother said grace. I noticed that there were tears in her eyes as she said the old, familiar words, “Komm, Herr Jesus. Be our guest.” I saw tears, too, in the eyes of the battle-weary soldiers, boys again, some from America, some from Germany, all far from home.”  Later, one of the German soldiers who spoke some English and had studied medicine examined the injury to the American soldier’s hand with advice to heal it.  They all shook hands and parted the next morning.

The third story is a bit more recent: President Trump’s survival from two assassination attempts. No one can describe this Christmas Miracle better than Trump himself.  In a social media post after he was shot by a bullet in Butler, PA, Trump said “it was God alone” who saved his life.

I hope these reflections help capture the spirit of the Christmas season.