What would it take to ruin Thanksgiving?

Maybe it would be not having any turkey to eat. (Or one that turns out so dry, it’s almost inedible.) Or being stuck far from home, surrounded by strangers. Or eating alone in your house, with none of your family able to visit.

When you think about it, the line between a perfect holiday and a perfectly awful one is very thin indeed. But this is the line that Americans had to tread between 1942 and 1945, when World War II was raging and life turned upside down.

A few months ago, we realized that this year marks the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II. That got us thinking: How did people celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving during the war? How would a worldwide conflict affect something so many people look forward to and even count on? So, we took some time to research it. What we learned was fascinating. It’s the kind of history that’s maybe not important enough to learn about in school…but it is important to learn now, because it helps us better appreciate all we have and how far we’ve come. So, for this Thanksgiving, we thought we’d share it with you.

On the Home Front: It’s not often remembered, but food was heavily rationed during World War II. Everyone had a set number of “points” they could spend on both food and other items. These points came in the form of stamps inside “ration books.” So, if a person wanted to buy a pound of bacon in 1943, they’d not only have to pay the required 30 cents to their butcher or grocer, but several ration points, too.

Meat, fats, fish, cheese, milk, sugar, and coffee were all heavily rationed, so families had to be especially careful with their spending around the holidays. They certainly couldn’t afford to waste anything, so a wide variety of “alternative” Thanksgiving recipes — many having originated in World War I or the Great Depression — became popular. One of the most famous was “mock turkey,” or murkey, which was a thick ball of sausage meat, onions, apples and breadcrumbs. This would be covered by a few strips of bacon to imitate the turkey’s skin, with two parsnips sticking out of the end to represent the legs.

Food wasn’t the only thing rationed during the war. Gasoline was severely limited, too. Meanwhile, trains were mostly reserved for military purposes, and commercial air travel was still in its infancy. That meant most people simply couldn’t travel to be with family during Thanksgiving. And with so many young men and women serving, there were almost as many empty chairs around the dinner table as there were occupied ones.

But all over the country, Americans coped with these enforced absences in a very special way: By dining with strangers instead. Family after family opened their homes to those who couldn’t get back to theirs.

One thing that wasn’t rationed, surprisingly, was turkey — but there were still almost none to be had during the war. Not because there was a shortage, but because most people agreed it was better to send them overseas for the troops to eat instead.

The Pacific and Asia: Delivering those turkeys required the Navy, which braved bombers, mines, and torpedoes just to ensure every soldier could enjoy a proper Thanksgiving meal. At Guadalcanal, site of some of the fiercest fighting during the war, exhausted marines were shocked to wake up on Thanksgiving Day with turkey, cake, cranberries, and a bottle of cold soda for every single man.

But it wasn’t just Americans working to ensure the troops could celebrate Thanksgiving. Our allies made it their mission, too. In Australia, cities and towns held huge Thanksgiving Day celebrations for the American soldiers quartered there. In India, locals donated potatoes, pumpkins, and meat for mince pies. (Although more than one soldier would write how much they missed cranberries, which were simply unknown in that part of the world.)

In England: It’s the place where William the Conqueror was crowned as King of all England. The place where Elizabeth I, Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Stephen Hawking, and countless others are buried. The place where royals get married and monarchs coronated. But on November 26, 1942, it was the site of one of the largest and most special Thanksgiving services ever held outside the U.S.

We’re referring, of course, to Westminster Abbey. Over 3,500 American soldiers were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving there, and the marble halls were filled with the strains of America the Beautiful and The Star-Spangled Banner. Afterward, those same soldiers held a Thanksgiving feast at their base, where they hosted local orphans whose parents had been killed in the war. (You can see some incredible pictures of this at www.life.com/history/world-war-ii-thanksgiving-in-westminster.) Similar Thanksgiving celebrations were held at countless churches and cathedrals all over England. In many places, farmers gave permission for American soldiers to take turkeys and pumpkins free of charge. But whether local or shipped from back home, many U.S. soldiers refused to eat them. Instead, they took them to local hospitals, to give to British soldiers who were ill or injured.

The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on anybody. America, of course, had fought a war of independence against Britain. And the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by pilgrims who were trying to get away from England. But during those hard years, the people of both countries found something in common to be grateful for:

Each other.

We think these stories illustrate something so powerful about Thanksgiving. It’s not about the food, or the location, or even the company, as nice as those things are. In the end, all it really takes to make the perfect Thanksgiving is something to be thankful for.

Reading about how people shared and sacrificed for each other during those dark, difficult years makes us realize how much we have to be thankful for…and now, we look forward to this year’s Thanksgiving more than ever. We hope you do, too.

On behalf of our entire team, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Barbara B. Hudock CIMA®, CPM®
Chief Executive Officer
Founding Partner

Michael J. Hudock, Jr., CPM®
President and Founding Partner
Wealth Consultant