It was the last time my father saw his brother.
Every time my father heard the song “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby, he got a quiet tear in his eye. Most times, he said nothing, but a few times, he would say to me, “That reminds me of Sonny.”
Lt. Raph F. Perkins, Jr., known in the family as “Sonny,” was my father’s oldest brother. He served in the US Army-Air Corp. in 1942.
Sonny was home on leave before being sent to the European Theater to enter combat. Sonny took my father, known in the family as “Bud,” to the movie Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby, which featured the song “White Christmas.”
After the movie, it was snowing outside. Sonny put his brother Bud on his shoulders and carried him home. When my father did talk about Sonny and the film, it was rare. I only received bits and pieces. My father told the whole story only once.
It was World War 2. The song became popular with US GIs and Americans everywhere. For those stationed in places without snow, like Asia and Africa, as with Uncle Sonny and their loved ones back home, “White Christmas” became popular. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen, and their loved ones, dreamed for days that they could see another white Christmas again.
“White Christmas” became popular worldwide.
While the song conveyed a more secular approach to the holiday season than other Christmas songs at the time, it still rose to popularity over the next year as young American troops got deployed for World War II. The Christmas tune went on to be played on the Armed Forces radio to comfort troops overseas as it became an anthem of hope.
Crosby traveled across the globe to perform for the troops and found that “White Christmas” was his most highly requested song, even though he apparently hesitated to perform it due to the soldiers’ reaction to it.
“Heaven knows, I didn’t come that far to make them sad. For this reason, several times I tried to cut it out of the show, but these guys just hollered for it,” the singer once said in an interview. ‘White Christmas’ isn’t really about Christmas at all — the sad story behind America’s favorite song | The Independent
“White Christmas” went on to become the top-selling single of all time. According to Guinness World Records, by 2012 it had sold some 50 million copies worldwide. It won the Academy Award for best original song in 1943, and two years later it appeared on Crosby’s holiday-themed album Merry Christmas. Hollywood even cashed in on its enduring appeal by making a film called White Christmas (1954), which starred Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. In his autobiography, Call Me Lucky (1953), Crosby suggested he couldn’t get away from the song if he tried. “It’s a great song with a simple melody,” he wrote, “and nowadays anywhere I go I have to sing it.” What Is the Most Popular Christmas Song? | All Time, In the World, & Facts | Britannica
Uncle Sonny returned to his base and was shipped to North Africa shortly after. He was killed in action on 1 Aug 1943 during the infamous “Operation Tidal Wave,” over Ploesti, Romania.
Here he is with the rest of the crew of “Dopey” in Northern Africa. Sonny is the one standing in front of the D.
I remember my father saying that Sonny’s plane was the “Dopey,” like in the movie Snow White.
Due to the worldwide popularity of “White Christmas,” my father heard the song often. “White Christmas” was a dark, bitter-sweet memory for him. He was always reminded of what happened to his brother.
A Hollywood Icon’s Beloved Christmas Classic is a Streaming Hit This Festive Season
Holiday Inn – Where to Watch and Stream – TV Guide
Ploesti Raid: A Tragic Tidal Wave – Warfare History Network
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