“On our fighting front, there are no silent nights, but there are plenty of holy nights.” – Bing Crosby
It’s difficult to be separated from family and friends during the holidays. It’s even more disconcerting to be away from friends and family during the holidays when you are amid a battlefield. World War II servicemen and servicewomen faced just such a challenge—whether they were actively serving overseas or stationed at military installations throughout the United States.
As America entered World War II in late 1941, holiday celebrations may have been more somber (with the bombing of Pearl Harbor happening early in December), but most servicemen and servicewomen were still home that year. In November 1942, England showed its appreciation to its American ally by opening the doors of Westminster Abbey for a Thanksgiving service. Roughly 3,500 soldiers filled the room for this unprecedented gesture, with performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” filling the space. A feast followed at a local air force station and was attended by local children.
By 1943, more than 500,000 American soldiers celebrated the holidays in England, with many more scattered throughout Europe and the Pacific Theater. In 1944, sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow covered most of Europe for the holiday season, making maintaining morale even more challenging during a season filled with longing for home and family. For American military members trying to celebrate the holidays, the reality they faced stood in stark contrast to their memories of holidays past.
Knowing that food was one of the greatest comforts to those on the battlefronts, the United States military turned its logistical prowess toward ensuring its service members had traditional holiday dinners, no matter where they were serving. Turkey dinners were provided for nearly all soldiers over the holidays. For those areas where holiday dinners were not an option, cooks found ways to make the holiday meal a little celebratory, even that meant the simple addition an orange or a warm beer to the regular rations.
Mail also provided a source of comfort for those serving. The United States Postal Service recommended families and friends send holiday packages as early as September 15 to ensure a holiday delivery, though many holiday packages caught up with their intended recipients months after the holidays were over. The 6888th Central Postal Battalion, the only all-Black unit of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), carried the responsibility of ensuring that millions of packages and letters were delivered throughout the year to those serving.
Packages consisted of a variety of foods, cigars or cigarettes, coffee, socks, soap, and other basic necessities. While humble gifts for the holiday season, some families “dressed up” the gifts by wrapping them in festive paper or homemade decorations. Journalist Margaret Bourke-White, on the frontlines herself, created a guide for families to help them determine what to send. She suggested family photographs, books (especially fiction books), magazines, and candies like fine chocolate or peanut brittle that were not readily available at the post exchange.
Even holiday music changed during World War II, as those both home and overseas grew nostalgic for holidays past. Songs like “White Christmas” (1941), “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (1943), and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (1944) became extremely popular, so much so that they are still standards today.
Chaplains held Jewish and Christian services where they could, and servicemen and women were given time off when possible to attend local synagogues or churches to pray and worship. Local families took in American military members far from home, both stateside and overseas, sharing their homes and tables with strangers to give them a sense of home and comfort. Soldiers decorated Christmas trees with makeshift decorations using whatever materials were accessible, and wherever possible troops would gather for shared meals and activities.
Large-scale battlefield truces, like the famous World War I Christmas Truce of 1914, were not seen during World War II. In 1944, such a truce would have been impossible as Germany had launched its largest counteroffensive of the war against the west just nine days before Christmas, resulting in the Battle of the Bulge. While there were most certainly smaller truces that occurred, only one documented holiday truce of World War II remains. The recounting of a then-12-year-old German boy named Fritz, the truce involves three American soldiers, one badly wounded, seeking shelter from Fritz’s mom and four German soldiers seeking the same. Though wary and suspicious of each other, the soldiers agreed to surrender their arms to Fritz’s mother for the night, celebrate a Christmas Eve meal together, contemplate the Star of Bethlehem at midnight, and shake hands and go their separate ways on Christmas morning.
Though the holidays were difficult during the war, by December 1945, most American service members were back home in time to celebrate once again with their friends and family. It was a joyful holiday season, a time to focus on being together once again and look toward rebuilding American society post-war.
To learn more about what it was like for our troops during World War II, visit us at the Wright Museum. Our season runs annually from May 1 to October 31.
All information in the above article was taken from the following sources. For more information on how American servicemen and women celebrated the holidays during the war, please check out the below sites.
American Battle Monuments Commission, “Christmas Eve 1944: A Brief Moment of Peace on the Battlefield”
History.com, “How Americans Celebrated the Holidays During World War II”
LIFE.com, “Thanksgiving Among Allies: A World War II Gathering in Westminster”
The National WWII Museum New Orleans, “‘An Excellent Turkey Dinner’: Christmas Overseas in World War II”
Sarah Sundin, “Christmas in World War II – The Military”
