In 1943, the world was at war, and many thousands of American men and women in the service would be spending Christmas far away from home. As a special gift to them and their families came this tender ballad, recorded by Bing Crosby. Just a year earlier, Crosby had had a best-seller with Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas,” and his recording of this new song by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent also passed the million-record mark in sales. On December 17, 1965, at the astronauts’ request, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” was transmitted up to Gemini 7 as it hurtled back to the earth from space.
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