Send
Close Add comments:
(status displays here)
Got it! This site "usma1978.org" uses cookies. You consent to this by clicking on "Got it!" or by continuing to use this website. Note: This appears on each machine/browser from which this site is accessed.
I'll be home for Christmas
1. I'll be home for Christmas
2. Title and abstract
I'll be home for Christmas: Christmas and the military
In the past years, I have done talks on the secular and religious history of various aspects of Christmas. Of particular interest is the secular and religious history of Christmas songs and carols.
Here are some highlights of these ideas which focuses on some Christmas songs in war in general and on not being home at Christmas with a local, Elizabethtown, PA, flavor.
3. Christmas songs during war
I heard the bells (1864, at the height of returning casualties from Grant's offensive against Lee in the east)
White Christmas (1941, weeks after Pearl Harbor) which still provides memories for many veterans.
I'll be home for Christmas (1942, a year later) which also provides memories for many veterans.
4. Elizabethtown, PA, war at Christmas time
Battle of the Bulge Malmedy massacre a few weeks before Christmas in 1944. Two survivors were from Elizabethtown, PA, one from Mount Joy.
Korean War, December 26, 1952, 2LT Robert Dale Reem, marine officer and Naval Academy graduate, fell on a grenade to save his men, and was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was from Elizabethtown, PA.
My Uncle Donny served in the 71 Infantry Division late in World War II. He never talked about it, but to my Dad a few times. He did not see combat, but spent time standing guard over corpses from the concentration camp as they were stacked up like wood. In high school, Uncle Donny gave me his medals and souvenirs from the war, which included a German belt buckle with a swastika surrounded by the Martin Luther Bible words "Gott mit uns" (God with us), the verse of which is read (in English) every Christmas as part of the Christmas story. One takeaway from this may be that putting "In God we trust" on coins or as part to the Pledge of Allegiance cannot change the underlying orientation of a government.
5. Author
The author has a BS (physics) and a PhD (computer science) with a long-time interest in computer and human languages (including music).
6. Future direction
There are many veterans could who could add some of their own memories of Christmas away from home. If anyone has specific examples or experience in any area related to these ideas that you are willing to share, please contact me.