This Carnation Milk ad from December 11, 1944 capitalized on the experience of many Americans like Isabel who anticipated missing a family member (or several) over the holiday season.
Depicted in the background of the advertisement is a Service Banner. These flags, bordered in red with gold tassels, indicated that families had members serving in the war (represented by the number of stars on the banner). In this advertisement, it is Dad who is missing from the family dinner table. The Service Banner posted in the window serves as a reminder of his presence and tells passersby of his family's patriotism and sacrifice.
Citations
“Carnation.” Life 17, no. 24 (December 11, 1944): 49. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=lma&AN=118080359&site=ehost-live. Accessed March 4, 2023.
"Service Banner." Flags Unlimited. n/d. https://www.usflags.com/products/service-banner. Accessed March 4, 2023.
Video description from source:
"Male solo vocal, accompanied by John Scott-Trotter & his orchestra. Full title = I'll Be Home for Christmas (If Only in My Dreams) Words & music: Kim Gannon & Walter Kent. Original broadcast date: 23 September 1943."
In her letter, Isabel laments about how Christmas will look very different this year. With both her brother Jack and husband Bud serving for the war effort, she acknowledges that they will not be home for Christmas like they were last year. This sentiment of sorrow surrounding the holiday season during the war was a feeling shared by many Americans who had a conspicuously empty seat at the Christmas dinner table, perhaps for the first time. They were missing their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers—with no way to know whether they would make it back home.
Isabel's letter (which was written October 14, 1943) came only two weeks before the official release of the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas," with vocals by the legendary singer Bing Crosby. The record released on October 26, 1943, but a shortened version the song (which can be listened to in the recording above) was sung live by Crosby a month ahead of its official release. He sang the preview on his radio program "Kraft Music Hall," which the singer hosted for NBC. Crosby was massively popular in the United States, and he had charmed the hearts and minds of Americans only a year prior with the iconic song "White Christmas," which would go on to become the best selling single of all time.
Like its predecessor, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" became an immediate hit, with a message seemingly tailored to express the sentiment of the World War II soldiers who were missing home over the holidays. The line "I'll be home for Christmas...If only in my dreams" was especially meaningful, as it reflected the uncertainty and hope that soldiers would indeed be able to return home for Christmas some day soon—even if it was only a dream for now.
The song quickly rose in popularity: it charted for 11 weeks following its release, peaking at number 3. Because of this, it is easy to imagine that Isabel heard "I'll Be Home for Christmas" on the radio in the weeks prior to the holiday, reminding her of the brother and husband she would be missing. (She may have even heard Crosby's September "Kraft Music Hall" preview of the song ahead of when she penned her letter to Margaret, because the show was exceedingly popular during the time it was hosted by Crosby.)
The popularity of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" did not end at the homefront. The song resonated with U.S. soldiers serving abroad as well; it became the most-requested song at Christmas U.S.O. shows in Europe and the Pacific. Bing Crosby toured extensively with the U.S.O., and according to the organization's website, American G.I.s polled by the military magazine Yank in 1944 voted Crosby as "the person who did the most for their morale overseas" during the war.
Interestingly, despite the song's popularity with U.S. soldiers, it was banned from UK radio playlists by the BBC because of the broadcast's concern that "sickly sentimentality" would lower the morale of troops and citizens during the war.
Citations
Dowling, Stephen. "Banned: The songs deemed 'too dangerous' for the BBC." BBC. June 20, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190620. Accessed March 4, 2023.
"I'll Be Home for Christmas." Library of Congress. 2002. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200000010/. Accessed March 4, 2023.
"Kraft Music Hall." Bing Crosby. n/d. https://bingcrosby.com/radio/kraft-music-hall/. Accessed March 4, 2023.
LeDonne, Rob. "'White Christmas' at 75: A Snapshot of the Most Successful Song in Music History. Billboard. December 20, 2017. https://www.billboard.com/culture/lifestyle/white-christmas-bing-crosby-history-8071111/. Accessed March 4, 2023.
RobinsRareRecordings. "Bing Crosby - I'll Be Home for Christmas (U.S. NBC radio, "Kraft Music Hall", 1943.)" Youtube Video, 1:07. December 19, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHPw4pZOEag. Accessed March 4, 2023.
"USO Tour Veteran Bing Crosby Was a Hit Overseas." USO. January 21, 2011. https://www.uso.org/stories/1905. Accessed March 4, 2023.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
What was the holiday season like for women who served abroad?
While many stories of these women will go untold, below is a first person account from Lucile Spooner Votta, a World War II nurse stationed in the Philippines in late 1944. She was put in charge of a psychiatric ward with over 200 patients as the only nurse. In her account, which can be read in full here, she recounts a story of giving gifts to her patients on Christmas:
"I was Santa Claus and wore a red suit... we made little baskets and put them at everybody's place for Christmas morning. One man, who was in seclusion, he was very ill, he was stark naked in his little cell and I went and I gave the basket to him. He said, "Ma'am, this is the nicest Christmas I've ever had."
Actions like the ones that Lucile took in order to recreate the magic of Christmas for her patients demonstrate how she, like many women serving in the war effort, had a lasting positive impact on countless soldiers. Normalcy, however small, was a treasured gift—especially during Christmas, when many were missing their families, and did not know whether they would make it home next year.
Citation
Votta, Lucile S. "A Psychiatric Nurse in the Phillippines." Interviewed by Kathy O'Grady. What Did You Do in the War, Grandma? An Oral History of Rhode Island Women during World War II, South Kingston High School. 1995. https://cds.library.brown.edu/projects/WWII_Women/Philippines.html.
Although Isabel does not go into detail about what her holiday season will look like at home, other primary sources from the time offer a picture of what the Christmas season was like on the homefront for women who were missing family members in the service.
For example, an invaluable collection of letters written by Saidee R. Leach and housed by the Bryant Digital Repository gives readers a firsthand account of the day-to-day activities of a wife and mother managing her household and work during the war.
Spanning several years, the letter collection offers a heartwarming look into the lives of the Leach household, and it is evident that Saidee took meticulous care to document the details of their home life her son Douglas, a Navy ensign and the recipient of her letters. She included him vicariously through her letters and by sending him gifts during the holiday season to remind him of home.
In a particularly touching letter written on December 9, 1943, Saidee describes to her son what Christmas is like without him there:
"Dear Douglas - Today I know your thoughts will turn towards home no matter where you may be nor how busy. And you can be sure that your name is on our lips very often. Even altho I am writing this two weeks before Christmas I can tell you that we have a tree about the usual size, set in the same spot and with the old familiar ornaments. There seem to be as many presents as ever for we have all been buying small gifts for each other, particularly for Daryl. And most intriguing are the ones in brown wrapping paper, marked from San Francisco stores. Your suggestion that I re-wrap them in Christmas colors did not appeal to us at all, for this is the first time we have had packages from a son away in the service--last year it was the crate of oranges which arrived just at the psychological moment.
...I hope you have opened our packages and that you will sense in each one the love we have for you and the faith and confidence we have that the future holds many happy Christmases where we can all be together."
Saidee's letters paint an authentic and moving picture of how women like her did their best to maintain their homes and families even when they were missing their loved ones dearly and being made to navigate harsh wartime circumstances (such as rations on food and gas).
Saidee's effort in writing descriptive and consistent letters to her son shows that he was always at the forefront of her mind. Letters like Saidee's undoubtedly helped keep the hopes up of those loved ones who were missing; they served as comforting reminders of home. Thankfully, Saidee's dream of her son returning home became reality, and Douglas was able to spend many more Christmases with his family.
Here is a sampling of some of the other letters that Saidee wrote to her son over the years during the holiday season:
December 21, 1942 (she mentions Bing Crosby in this letter!)
Citation
Leach, Sadie R. Handwritten Letter, December 9, 1943. Bryant University. https://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/wwll_leach/73/. Accessed March 1, 2023.