Topic: 1942

A PBS NewsHour segment reveals that Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" was originally written as a parody. The deleted opening verse described a person sitting by a pool in Beverly Hills among orange and palm trees, dreaming of a snowy northern Christmas. The song only became a sentimental classic in 1942 when it resonated with American military personnel serving overseas during World War II.

The U.S. Flag Code was formally adopted in 1942 to change the way Americans saluted the flag during the National Anthem. Previously, the "Bellamy Salute" involved an outstretched arm with the palm down, which was abandoned after it was adopted by the Nazi regime in Germany. Historical photos from the Library of Congress show American schoolchildren using the salute prior to the legislative change.

The hosts analyze a 1942 song from the film "Iceland" titled "You Can't Say No to a Soldier," characterizing it as blatant war propaganda. The lyrics encourage women to be "dutiful" to servicemen to maintain morale during a desperate period of the war. They contrast this total-war social engineering with the "insincere" nature of modern conflicts.

In 1942, a pivotal and desperate year for the Allied forces, the film "Iceland" featured a song by Sammy K titled "You Can't Say No to a Soldier." The lyrics encouraged women to be "dutiful" to servicemen to maintain morale during the war effort. This era of desperate patriotism and industrial productivity is contrasted with the perceived insincerity of later conflicts like the Vietnam War.