In a brief piece titled "Christmas, Wartime, and a Wedding," published in I'll Be Home for Christmas (Delacorte Press, 1999), Esther Carlson describes her special wartime Christmas wedding. More marriages occurred in 1942 than ever before in U.S. history. In the face of wartime uncertainties, relationships were intense. Young dating couples dreaded the possibility—or certainty—of overseas military assignments and long-term separation; they feared they might never see each other again. Some couples married after only a few dates. Young women who followed this path were called "war brides." Surprisingly, many of these "rushed" wartime marriages—including Esther Carlson's—lasted over fifty years.

December 25, 1942, was, and always will be, the most memorable Christmas to me because it was also my wedding day.

My fiance, Harold, was in the military service; he was stationed in Long Beach, California, and I had come out from Denver...