It was December 1955, the height of the Cold War, when Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup received a surprising call on his red phone — a top secret hotline — at the Continental Air Defense Command in Colorado. On the line, a child asked: “Is this Santa Claus?” Colonel Shoup’s answer created a beloved Christmas Eve tracking tradition. Terri Van Keuren, Rick Shoup, and Pam Farrell — three of Colonel Shoup’s four children — share the tale of how their father spread cheer across the world through a merr