St. Charles historian looks back at Christmas during World War II

The number of U.S. citizens who were old enough on Dec. 7, 1941, to remember where they were when hearing about Japanese air forces attacking Pearl Harbor and igniting World War II continues to dwindle.

The Rev. William Beckmann, a retired pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Aurora, is one who remembers. As a young lad setting up his electric train set with his father in the basement of their home, he recalls the radio announcer bringing news of the attack on the military base in Hawaii.

"With the radio being in the basement, the signal was kind of going in and out," Beckmann said. "Plus, we could only get a couple of stations, but the news came out about Pearl Harbor."

Because this past Dec. 7 marked the 80th anniversary of that attack, Beckmann made "holidays on the home front" the theme of his annual Christmas lore presentation for the Tri-Cities Exchange Club.

The presentation on Dec. 14 at the St. Charles Veterans Center marked the 30th year Beckmann, of St. Charles, has shared his extensive research about the holiday season.

"Americans hoped for an early peace and that the war would be over in the short term," Beckmann said. "It did not work out that way, and it was interesting to research what was happening on the home front and what changed during the holidays."

Maintaining holiday spirit

Even though the concepts of war and Christmas didn't go together, Americans "coped amazingly well in the midst of almost five years of slaughter," Beckmann noted. "The carols and trees and worship played against a backdrop of fear, but in times like these Christmas seemed more urgent."

Of major importance was the ability for men and women in the service to communicate with families back home. To that end, the military created a system called V-Mail, for "victory."

V-Mail operated through a one-sided form on which a writer would compose a message, which was then photographed onto 16 mm black-and-white film and sent in thumbnail form to a processing center on a reel containing many letters.

All were eventually printed onto a piece of small paper and slipped into an envelope for delivery.

"It was a simple photographic system and it worked," Beckmann said. "V-Mail allowed a massive exchange of personal messages which otherwise would not have occurred because the mail system was vying for cargo space with food, fuel, ammunition and other supplies."

The other key for the holidays was food. The armed services did much to make sure troops had special holiday meals, Beckmann added.

"Even on the front lines, mess halls served turkey dinner, and in 1942 the troops in Guadalcanal were happy to each receive an orange and a warm beer as their Christmas banquet."

The songs endure

Bing Crosby did a lot to lift spirits during the holidays by recording "I'll Be Home for Christmas" in October 1943 and recording "White Christmas" in 1942, a song he wrote even before the war began.

Crosby sang that song for the first time in public at Kraft Music Hall on Christmas Day in 1941.

"I'll Be Home for Christmas" was initially released as a 78-rpm disc on Decca Records.

"The song touched soldiers and civilians alike in the midst of the war, and Crosby earned his fifth gold record," Beckmann said. "It became the most requested song at Christmas USO shows."

It touched hearts, mostly because of its melancholy ending in which those overseas realized it wasn't likely they would be home, as it stated, "I'll be home for Christmas ... if only in my dreams."

"These were two very popular songs that lasted throughout the war and have endured to this day," Beckmann said.

Christmas trees adjustment

Prior to the war, many Christmas trees in American homes had ribbons, bows and glass ornaments made in Germany and Japan.

"When the war began, many patriotically threw their German blown-glass ornaments and exotic Japanese ornaments into the trash," Beckmann said.

But it all led to homemade decorations like popcorn strings, garland, paper ornaments and tinsel.

"Electric bubble lights were invented in 1946, and by the end of the holiday season, millions of them had been sold," Beckmann added.

Plus, the Corning Glass Company in New York began mass-producing "Christmas tree balls," producing more ornaments in a minute than a German craftsman could make in a day, Beckmann said.

"To give their Christmas tree a snow-covered effect, people mixed a box of Lux Soap Powder with two cups of water and brushed the mixture on the branches of their tree," he added.

During the height of the war, Americans could not buy Christmas lights or ornaments because of supply shortages from the war conservation efforts. In general, gifts were small and could be placed on the tree, thus, the military personnel dreaming of Christmas at home and envisioning "presents hanging from the tree."

Time for healing

The American Christmas of 1945 was a time of healing in the wake of the war - but goods needed for proper celebrations around the world were in short supply.

President Harry Truman declared Christmas that year as a four-day holiday for federal employees, while the military initiated "Operation Magic Carpet" to get troops home for the holidays as quickly as possible. Tens of thousands of peacekeeping troops came home for Christmas.

"Regardless of where the war effort found them, American servicemen and women put the Christmas spirit to work and held parties for children in the towns and cities where they were stationed," Beckmann said.

"They provided candy and other foods for the townspeople," he added. "In Germany, American troops tried to celebrate the holiday with local orphans."

Even though history books tell us many stories about the battles and other key events that occurred during World War II, it is also important to know what was going on at the homes of Americans concerned about what was happening overseas.

"It was a case where you had the home front and the military working together to preserve the values that were so common in those days," Beckmann said.

It all added up to keeping Christmas at the forefront, no matter what was happening across the globe.

dheun@sbcglobal.net