have inspires generations of the americans. >> isn't this would you have? i'm going to jail. merry christmas. >> it's all straight ahead on sc. >> hello everyone, i'm frank somerville. we often talk about this as a season of joy, but sometimes history conspires to force us to focus on the hope that we find in the holidays. back in 2001, christmas came a little over three months after the terrorist attacks in new york and washington. it wasn't long until u.s. troops were on the ground in the afghanistan, fighting for root out the taliban and for them, christmas was a brief pause in a fearful time. reporter tollban was with the marines. >> reporter: the threat of terrorism is ever present, higher command felt it was too important for them to remain vigilant, guarding the base. some small celebratations have spread up over the airport. this balentien out camp pendleton california took it upon themselves to expansion a few christmas gifts and greatings and even decorate one of the ad hoc christmas trees that have been so popular around the base. these were some of the first marines into kandahar that secured the base. they song carols after the sun went down and two separate religious services one early for the protestant marine and a midnight mass for the catholics. the military also established phone lines so that the military can call home free of charge. they say the marines are bolstered by the support that they are get from home and says anyone in their right mind would want to be here defending their country. they have the training to do that and they are proud to be here. >> reporter: holidays in 2001 were particularly difficult ones for members of bay area afghan community. tonights are struck in the land where they lived and war had broken out in the land of their ancestor, but as ktvu's robert honda found they felt they still had much to be thankful for and much for accomplished. >> reporter: it was low-key, but there was definitely the feeling of a last-minute christmas shopping rush today in fremont's afghan community. this section of town is the center for about 10,000 bay area afghans and afghan- americans. >> god bless america. >>. >> one thing american people have to realize that muslim people believe in jesus christ. it's in the holy book of qur'an and there is nothing to be worried about as far as not respecting christmas. so we do respect christmas. >> some of a kwan-americans say it's hard to celebrate any holiday, christmas for ramadan with the war going on, there is something to celebrate. >> amazingly, it's a wonderful, wonderful christmas for us where we are in a country of freedom. >> reporter: inside the shops there is a mix of cultural symbols from a christmas stocking to afghan rugs to young people wearing pittsburgh steeler jerseys or new york yankee hats. >> just the whole shopping aspect and going to the mall is really great. >> we don't feel as a religious time, but we treat it has a social way to keck with our community, whether with our coworkers and just sharing in the spirit of it all. >> reporter: 2001 was a somber year for everyone as they marked christmas in thing himmerring shadow of the 9-11 attack. here is john fowler's report from christmas day, nine years ago. >> reporter: they came this christmas morning to nature's own whapel by the sea, san francisco's ocean beach. some, such as engineer paul chan said this christmas seems different. >> i was just sitting here, it feels a little bit different. i think there are a lot of things that are going well for me and a kweisi mfume of things that aren't, but it's just nice to be out here c. cyclist david wulf said september 11th changed christmas for him. >> it's my toast to do at christmas and i'm going to bring that point up. we all fee very fortunate to have come through this incident and come through about our heads high as a country. >> reporter: the lynch family said their traditional christmas day dog walk at the beach took on a special memeaning this year. >> my traditions are going ooutlast anything. nobody could do anything to change nem. >> given what happened september 101th, i think it changed everybody's lives, especially mine and it's affected my kids and everybody that you talk to. i think just that you hold life more precious. berkeley city streets were nearly deserted today as was the uc campus. this jogger is visiting his brother. >> people have lost lives and tragedies have happen, so people don't have the people to spend time with and i feel fortunate about that. >> reporter: many say this christmas was subdued. >> it's a expansiontor people to kind of regroup spiritually. we have had a hard year. still to come on "a second look," a bay area man remembers christmas 1941, the year america went to war. and a bit later, these bay area students are preparing christmas packages for soldiers overseas. in vietnam, in 1966. . in december, 1941 the united states had just been attacked at pearl harbor and joined the fight against japan and germany, but for one bay area 6-year-old, christmas was still a magical time, one that even 60 years later he still remembers fondly. george watson, first brought us this report in december of 2001. >> reporter: christmas, 1941, a season of feelings, mixed and unknowning. the world is at war, the united states is family in it and no one knows yet what that will mean. how long will it last? what sacrifices will have to be made? across the country, people are asking the basic question, what will happen to our family? and barely three weeks after pearl harbor another question how long in the air, what would become of that most familial of traditions, christmas? christmas will always be what you make of it and if seen through the eyes of a child, even in the shadow of war, it will be a memory worth cherrishing. mike mcgee's christmas of 1941 was preserved, but he would have remembered it, because after all, was 6 years old at the tile. >> the biggest thing i wanted was crossing gates, because the previous christmas my aunt harriet had given me a train set. i had everybody, but the crossing gates and i must have played with those gates the entire morning. >> reporter: trains were very much a part of the bay area in 1941 and at christmas time they brought mike mcgee's wednesday law home closer to the ground- zero of christmas shopping, downtown san francisco. >> the big trip to make was to the emporium. >> he got a toy horn, the flute and a toy drum, which was no doubt loud enough to qualify as something much more than just a toy. but this christmas meeker reserved the right to share his christmas dry joy with an old, old friend, teddy. >> i had had it a couple of years, teddy with down with me that christmas morning because i always went to bed with that teddy bear. it was a christmas gift to me. i always kept teddy with me. he was my pud where i. he moved away from that home. it's still there today and so are the memories, playing outside in front, the family together, the laughter, the characters creating a histories along lasting and more personal than the history being made in the rest of the world. earlier i mentioned that almost all of mike's toys are gone today, one remains and today it belongs to his granddaughter, catherine rose. >> it would be servler to see christmas always as a child sees and in a way mike mcgee sees christmas through the eyes of a child. >> i really do through the es of our grandchildren, because that is what christmas is about. it's about children and their enjoyment and their waiting for santa claus. ♪ it's christmas once more >> reporter: when we come back on "a second look" we go to watsonville and christmas 199 to see how folks there marked christmas among the rubble of the loma prieta earthquake. and a little later, christmas in the great depression and we'll remember this actor who gave us the memories and joy while enduring tough times. . during the '60s, many young american men spent the holidays in southeast asia, fighting in vietnam and then, as now, there were those who remembered them and did what they could to bring a bit of home to the war- zone. ray jacobs brought you this report from 1966 from diablo valley college. >> paul scone jon, student vice president is? charge of collecting signatures for a "we support you.". paul, what is that? >> it's a project designed to tell soldiers in vietnam that we support you. morale has been down because of different groups in the area, getting publicity saying that we're against you, like the vc committee in berkeley and it's our job with the senate, which i'm in charge of, to get as many san diegos saying that we support you and we're behind you 100%. >> reporter: you are sending articles to the boys in vietnam as christmas gifts. >> these articles include razors, razor blades, mirrors, soap, presweetened powdered drivens and other commodities, such as black shoe polish. >> the christmas vietnam program is to help boost the moral and tell the boys over there we care. >> reporter: there was a time when the holidays weren't complete without a visit to the troops by bob hope. from world war ii to korea to vietnam to the gulf, hope entertained the men and women of the military and some of the fartherrest reaches of the world. during the holidays in 199, he came right here to the bay area for a different cause, earthquake relief. ktvu's gary cow interviewed bob hope. >> we had apearthquake in l.a. in 1971 and i will tell you, it was really something. it was really something. he got up and ran around the house and the house got up and ran around me. >> reporter: hope got an ovation as big as a beatles. now the man responsible for it all, bill graham. >> well, we have a commodity that millions of people go towards, the rock'n'roll artists or the theatrical artist is the cheese to all of those people out there. why not utilize that for positive means? >> reporter: and bob hope in the flesh, who admitted to feeling quite a charge from all of these youngsters. >> i tell you, it's such a kick to see the power and energy in these kids. it's marvelous. >> reporter: i guess what i'm getting at that you do a lot of benefits, yes, and they are all over the world and all of that, but this is a little corner of the world here san francisco earthquake. >> it sure is and i wanted to do something ever since it happened of i was thinking it would be nice to help and when he called me, i was kind of happy that i had the time open to get up here. >> reporter: one of the communities hit hardest by the loma prieta earthquake was watsonville and that is where ktvu's lloyd la kuester went to tell us how the folks were marking the holiday two months after the devastating earthquake. >> reporter: christmas day in the valley and the city of watsonville. steel reeling from the october earthquake. ♪ holy night >> historic st. patrick's church still has to be rebuilt, but the spirit of the church continues in a school gym. >> let us give thanks to the lord our god. >> reporter: christmas mass celebrated today, a celebration that for all this town has gone through, the survivors are still holding together. a few miles away it's christmas in federally-provided trailers for some 40 families who lost their homes tolearthquake. the gonzalez family, mother, father and five children came from el salvador to start a new life and then the earthquake struck. but still, it's been a happy christmas. >> it has been a good one, because of all the help we have bot yep from the red cross and others. santa claus came to the delight of these children. a spanish-speaking santa. soon the children were squealing with happiness. >> margaritas,merryy christmas. gracias. >> reporter: you are giving up your christmas to do this? >> yes. >> reporter: what are you getting out of this? >> to see happy children get presents. it made me very, very happy to see their expressions, he is lepwhen santa claus gave them their present. >> reporter: girs of the gonzalez family got their present and in their own way thanked them. >> marry christmas! thanked everyone who has come to the aid of watsonville. >> . ♪ jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way slt slt. >> when we come back on "a second look,". ♪ i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪ >> we remember the man whose music helped to provide the soundtrack for the season. bing cosby. . one of the longest tough times in american mystery was the great depression. it was a time of economic desperation that stretched near ally decade glendening in a the austerity. jimmy stewart. >> at a time when male movie star were supposed to be glamorous and dynamic, gemmy stewart was quiet, modest and a little shy, an ordinary man with an unexpected inner core of strength and courage. audiences sensed he was those screens off screen and on and believed it when his character stood against the odds. in "it's a wonderful life? a. oh, he was the kind, conscientious banker, who thought his life was a failure until he realized how his neighbors thought about him. >> isn't it wonderful, i'm going to jail. merry christmas. >> in jimmy stewart americans saw themselves as they wanted to be generous, honest and ready to fight for the things that mattered. home, family, country, other people's rights. born in rural pennsylvania, in many ways stewart was what he appeared to be, a man from a small town, religious upbringing with conservative values. >> a belief in the value of hard work, i think is very important. it goes back to my family. >> reporter: when world war ii broke out, stewart joined the service. he commanded a bomber squadron in europe, rose to the rank of colonel, flew 20 bombing missions and earned the distinguished flying cross. jimmy stewart stayed in the air force reserve and spoke on behalf of patriotic causes. he campaigned against the colorization of black-and-white movies, including his own, it's a wonderful life." he spoke against cruelty to animals and sponsored a marathon for charity. stewart married only one at the age of 41 to a divorcee with two more sons and added two more children. friend they were inseparable. he gave credit for all of his triumphs to his directors. in 1911 the american film institute presented jimmy stewart with a lifetime achievement award. his wife and children were there. >> i am just grateful for every wonderful day in this wonderful business and i thank you. [ applause ] . >> reporter: for more than 50 years bing cosby's "white christmas," was the best- selling single in any category. to many years he lived here in the bay area and back in 200, ktvu's bob mackenzie talks to the woman who knew him best, his wife catherine, about "white christmas." ♪ i'm dream of a white christmas. ♪ is in the. >> reporter: christmas without that voice, singing that song is hard it imagine, yet there are many young people who haven't seen a bing cosby movie or heard him sing. >> the first time he sang it was in the movie and everything was gray and the depression was bad and people felt good with the way he sang it and the way there was a christmas celebration and the girl fell in love with him and it all worked out well. >> reporter: christmas without bing cosby is a personal matter for katheryn cosby who remained single for the years since her famous husband died. she lived in the spacious burlingame house she shared two bing and keeps his hats and wine cellar with his movies still on film. >> we have no wipe, but we have a lot of film. >> reporter: "white mass is" has had become the best-selling record. >> the second time was when bing and i met. >> reporter: she was a pretty, but relatively unnoticed 19- year-old actress from texas. and he was one of hollywood's biggest stars. >> i went in with a tennis racket and some peti coats and i heard a voice saying, howdy tex, what is your hurry? >> reporter: cosby proposed marginal many times before she accepted. that matchless voice is still with us and will probably be heard as long as we celebrate christmas. ♪ may all your christmases be white ♪ . that is it for this week's "a second look." i'm frank somerville and have a great holiday season and we'll see you again next week.