Rather than explain how the youngster obtained the top-secret number, Shoup raised a loud, deep voice and exclaimed: “Ho, ho, ho! I am Santa Claus, yes. Have you behaved well, boy?
In 1955, a youngster inadvertently contacted the military group and asked for Santa, starting the long-standing custom.
“He continued for a little while, and after taking a breath, he said, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,'” Shoup said in a 1999 interview with The Associated Press.
The boy’s mother then informed the colonel that the number was written incorrectly on the Sears advertisement. After hanging up,
