A Soldier's Silent Night

The original version was written by Lance Corporal James M. Schmidt in 1987 under the title "Merry Christmas, My Friend".

The audio recording of this adapted version which you will hear was recorded by Father Ted Berndt and his daughter Ellen Scout. Father Berndt was a priest at Bread of Life Charismatic Episcopal Church in Dousman, WI, a proud Marine and a WWII Purple Heart recipient.

The poem was recorded in one take. The recording received a national A.I.R. (Achievement in Radio) award from the March of Dimes and continues to be played in radio stations across the country.

Father Berndt passed away March 19th, 2004 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. According to his daughter, "All he ever wanted to do was touch lives... to make a difference. We are blessed to share 'A Soldier's Silent Night' again with you this Christmas.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Soldier's
• Silent
• Night
• military
• Christmas

[BrianMarrino236]

Best Picture at 2:06

[pogiest]

@BrianMarrino236 It took a lot for me to find something that said, "Santa is sad," since he is in this part of the poem.

[BrianMarrino236]

I first heard this song in Christmas in 2006. I even cried alot while hearing this poem

[pogiest]

@BrianMarrino236 I still do to this day.

[pogiest]

It did and still does the same to me because I can say been there.... done that for the most part. I wish you the best of luck and thank you for deciding to protect and serve the greatest nation the world has ever known.

[lillibbi286]

i think everyone should be just as proud as you. our soldiers dont gret enough recognition. i mean, what if they were gone? what if they all decided to quit? we need to thank God for them every day. tell your nephew we all thank him and love what he is doing!

[sablefan7711]

I heard this for the first time on Thanksgiving Day, but didn't hear the name of it. I cried once i realized it was about a soldier. My nephew is serving in the US Navy and is on his first deployment right now. This is the first holiday season that our family was not all together for Thanksgiving, and now for Christmas. I am so proud of what he is doing and for all those who have made the sacrifice for us. God, please take care of them all and bring them home as soon as possible.

[TheSuperlover101]

I cried. 

[BrianMarrino236]

I hope Santa made it to the other houses in time before this one. I sure hope he has enough time for other houses he might have missed.

[MrSdodimead]

A beautiful poem and well done by by Father Ted. Only someone who has been there could have done this. Yes, it does bring tears to my eyes.

[timothyjonrollins]

This beautiful video is heart-wrenching and if you choose to watch it, you may need a tissue or get a huge lump in your throat...like I did. I'm sending this out to my FB friends and family. Everyone have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!