Defense Secretary James Mattis is a four-star general with a soft spot.
Mattis, who resigned as defense secretary Thursday after President Trump decided not to keep U.S. troops in Syria, was a brigadier general working at the Quantico Marine base in 1998, military blog Stars and Stripes documents. That rank would've earned Mattis a day off on Christmas. But when another general arrived at the base to deliver cookies, he found Mattis guarding a gate alongside younger, lower-ranked Marines. Here's why:
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