As we at Hammock take the holiday break, we offer special thanks for the warriors who have defended our freedoms and continue to do so.

Through our work with the Marine Corps League, I have become especially aware of the sacrifices made by young men and women of the United States Marine Corps. Two events at this time of year bring special poignancy to the holiday.

The first was the invasion of "Bloody Tarawa" on 20 November 1943. Over three days of fighting, 1,020 Marines were KIA and more than 2,200 were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest days of the war, and the most deadly battle in the Corps' history to that point.

The second event occurred during the Korean War, when waves of Communist Chinese troops secretly surrounded and swept down on Marines near the Chosin Reservoir in what is now North Korea. During some of the bitterest wintry weather imaginable, the Marines executed a legendary fighting withdrawal and in the process sent many of the enemy into the void. The attack came the day after the Leathernecks celebrated a frigid Thanksgiving.

Indeed, we have much to be thankful for. And humbled by.