NORAD TRACKS SANTA

Every Christmas Eve, millions of children track Santa’ s journey through the North American Aerospace Defense Command’ s Santa Tracker. NORAD, traditionally tasked with protecting the skies over North America, is uniquely suited for this mission, which its faithfully executed since 1955.

“ Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, NORAD defends North America by tracking airplanes, missiles, space launches and anything else that flies in or around the North American continent,” said Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, NORAD’ s commander.

NORAD’ s 47 radar installations across Alaska and Canada pick up Santa as soon as he departs from the North Pole. It also tracks him by using U. S. Air Force and Canadian Air Force fighter jets. The jets escort him safely through North American airspace.

YULETIDE JUMPS The vaunted 82nd Airborne

Division gives back to its North Carolina community by hosting All American Presents from Paratroopers every year. Paratroopers who donate a toy get a raffle ticket for a chance to earn foreign jump wings during a two-day airborne operation. In 2020, the event collected more than 1,500 toys for the Children’ s Home

Society of North Carolina, Fort Bragg USO, Armed Services YMCA, the Cumberland County Sheriff’ s Department and the Fayetteville Urban Ministry.

TOYS FOR TOTS Every year, nearly 40,000 Marines, Marine Corps League members, veterans and volunteers

help the Toys for Tots effort, which collects new, unwrapped toys to distribute to children at Christmas. The program began in 1947 when Marine Corps Reserve Maj. Bill Hendricks’ wife, Diane, made dolls for her husband to take to an agency that delivered toys to children. When Bill couldn’ t find one, Diane

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told him to start it himself. That year, Hendricks’ reserve unit collected and distributed 5,000 toys in the Los Angeles area. The Marine Corps commandant ordered it to be a national program the next year. Now, Toys for Tots distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million children every year.