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On a wintery drive to return to his unit on this Christmas holiday, one soldier, Larry Connely, comments on his time in the country this Christmas. He had picked up a sergeant carrying a package and needed a lift to his own unit. On the ride, sergeant Dumbrowski tells about the day his squad was pinned down on a hillside 7 years ago when the war was in full swing.
Flashback to the patrol, led by Brownly, and their mission on Christmas Day. Cautions on keeping quiet, with no gear rattling, are made, but someone on the team trips a wire and gunfire explodes around the men. Damage control! Is anybody hurt? How’s the radio? Will we need to call in artillery on our own location? having one man with shot up legs, the only hope is to leave him to fire up a distraction for the rest of the patrol to getaway.
The story and the sergeant have the driver of the truck a little creeped out and are glad to drop him off at the tiny lane that leads to his unit. Five miles down the road though, the driver notices the package that was left in his truck. Doing the right thing, the driver turns around, finds the lane, and arrives at the compound. How will he find the orderly room to give the package back to the sergeant? Instead, he finds an orphanage full of happy, singing kids, and a memorial to the squad member who gave his life just up the hill.