War Stories: A Salute to the USO
Posted by: Scott W. Graves | 03/02/2008 5:58 PM
By Jennifer Bohler
It's been called a critical part of US defense--a unique morale booster that delivers a piece of home to millions of US troops and since its establishment in 1941 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, its mission has remained the same: to provide morale, welfare, and recreational services to service members and their families. It is the United Services Organization, more commonly known as the USO.
In the 2003 airing of War Stories with Oliver North: A Salute to the USO on Fox News Channel, host Oliver North led viewers on a journey through the history of the revered organization from its inception to today. Along the way, he shows us why the USO is far more, both home and abroad, than just entertainment for the young men and women serving our country.
The War Stories crew found the USO in two of the world's most dangerous locations. "They were out in Iraq and Afghanistan so we teamed up with them to let the American people know what a valuable part they are," said North, whose parents met at a USO dance.
In 1940, while Europe was in the throws of the second World War, Roosevelt conceived of an organization whose mission would serve to boost morale and fulfill the recreational needs of the troops. By February, 1941 the private, non-profit United Services Organizations was formed through a cooperation of six existing service organizations including, the Traveler's Aid Society, the National Catholic Charities, the National Jewish Welfare Board, the YMCA, the YWCA, and the Salvation Army.
The following year, 37-year old actor and comedian Bob Hope unwittingly made his USO debut when he was asked to perform his radio show from March Field in California. Bob's son, Tony Hope, spoke to War Stories about his father's participation, "He wasn't really enthusiastic about it until he got out there and found out that there was an outdoor show with forty thousand GIs in the audience, and they were the best audience he'd ever seen. They roared at all the jokes." This performance ignited a legendary love affair between Hope and this new organization that would continue for decades.
On December 7, 1941, just nine days after the opening of the first government-built USO club in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States was plunged into World War II.
Soon entertainers were recruited to perform at bases all over the US. Anyone from small vaudeville acts to big Hollywood stars like Bing Crosby, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Mickey Rooney were asked to participate. In just six months, 3,791 shows were performed in front of more than two million people in the armed services.
For most entertainers, the commitment to a USO tour is a significant one. They are unpaid and often forego lucrative performances back home in exchange for the gratitude of America's soldiers. Such was the case in the summer of 1943 when Bob Hope and singer/actress Frances Langford dodged air raids in North Africa during their first USO tour. Today, even the biggest stars often perform for free and pay their own costs.
"Wayne Newton goes out there and pays the cost of his band to go with him," North told Red County. "He gives up anything he might be making in Las Vegas. A lot of the major acts do the same thing, performing for nothing, paying their own way to get there. It's a significant financial contribution."
"They do it because they care," adds North. "I think you can say that about every group that goes out there."
Over the years, 7,000 entertainers have performed 273,000 shows for 141 million service men and women since 1941 and when the war ended, the age-old Hollywood saying, "the show must go on!" held true.
"In about 1946 or '47, my father was in a barracks of wounded and disabled [soldiers]," Tony Hope told War Stories. "And in the middle of the show a guy from the back said, 'you're not very funny.' And so my father did some quip about that, and thought, 'well, you know, you can't get everybody in your audience' or something better than that, and after the show, a couple of the doctors came up to him and said, 'you know that guy who said you're not very funny?' My father said, 'yeah.' 'That's the first time he's spoken in three years.'" Apparently even a bad joke has the power to heal.
The end of World War II brought the temporary suspension of USO activities. However, by the early 1950s, the Korean War ushered in a new era that included entertainment from the likes of Doris Day, Irving Berlin, Marilyn Monroe, and Johnny Grant.
Prior to his recent death, Grant vividly recalled Monroe's tour in Korea. "She was just what the doctor ordered. She came riding up in those tanks and wiggling along into the mess halls and all. And she just did her thing. And the guys, they got so excited, their dog tags were panting. And they were yelling, 'Marilyn, we love you.' And it was a love-in, in Korea."
The early 60s threatened bankruptcy for the USO and it was the Vietnam War that saved the organization. In 1963, Saigon was the site of the first USO club opened in a combat zone. Soldiers could write letters or record messages to be sent home. As many as 24,000 calls were placed each month from telephones provided at the center.
Through participation in the USO, entertainers had the unique ability to take the soldiers minds off of the immediate, transforming thoughts of death and destruction into thoughts of laughter and hope. Tony Hope chuckled as he recalled his father's uncanny ability to make people laugh at their own unfortunate situations.
"I remember we'd visit hospitals at night, after the show. The soldiers were realistic about their injuries, and wanted something to lift them a little bit. So he'd just walk into a room with forty beds and guys lying in traction and say, "All right, everybody up!"
No amount of humor could change the attitude of the American public. Negative public opinion about the war spilled over and at times reflected badly on the USO, an organization that many mistakenly thought was an official part of the United States military. Hope and other entertainers like Wayne Newton, Raquel Welch, and Johnny Grant did not allow negative public opinion to sway their efforts. When North asked Tony Hope about his father's commitment to the USO during that complicated time, Tony replied, "Absolutely he continued to go. He was not supporting the officers, or the plan, or the strategy, or the Pentagon, he was there for the troops, those were his guys."
By the end of the war, the USO was again in trouble. A "blue-ribbon" commission was formed in 1974 by the Department of Defense and the United Way to determine if the efforts of the USO were really necessary. After lengthy discussion and a tour of every USO facility, the commission recognized the true value and tangible benefits the organization offered our troops.
The organization continued in its role throughout the 80s and delivered to the troops in the Persian Gulf, the honor of witnessing Bob Hope's final USO tour during the Christmas season of 1990. Hope and Grant each participated in almost 60 USO tours over fifty years.
John Hanson, Sr. Vice President of the USO says, "We talk a lot about entertainment. It's 100% of what people understand about the USO, but it's about 20% of what we do. 80% of what we do is the daily care and feeding of the morale and welfare of troops who are stationed a long way from home."
The USO often sends service members the gift of communication through phone cards and stationery. Volunteers send care packages to troops with touches and tastes of home. They allow service members to be a part of their family's daily life by letting them video record a bedtime story and then return to the soldier a video of the child's reaction. Injured vets have access to multiple programs for care and rehabilitation through the organization. Other USO programs include child-care, support groups, and crisis counseling for the families of fallen service members.
According to War Stories, President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that morale is the greatest single factor in a successful war. Today, after 68 years, the USO operates more than 130 centers worldwide, with overseas centers in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Korea, Afghanistan, Guam, and Kuwait. The organization states that military personnel and their family members visited USO centers more than 5.3 million times last year. If their tagline is any indication, one can safely say the USO expects to be in the business of morale, welfare, and recreation for our service members "until every one comes home."
* For more information on the USO or to make a donation, visit www.USO.org
* War Stories with Oliver North airs Sunday night at 8 PM Eastern and Pacific Time. Previously aired episodes such as the above referenced, A Salute to the USO, are now available for purchase at Amazon.com
BONUS:
Oliver North is the host of "War Stories" on the Fox News Channel. He is a conservative political commentator, a best selling author, a syndicated columnist, an event speaker, and founder of Freedom Alliance, a foundation which grants scholarships to children who have lost a parent in the service of our country. A Vietnam veteran who retired from a 22-year career in the Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel, North received the Bronze Star for valor, the Silver Star, and two Purple Heart medals for wounds in action. North was assigned to President Reagan's National Security Council Staff and served as the government's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 1983-1986.
BONUS:
Today, the USO: Greater Los Angeles Area incorporates three Southern California locations, the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX, the USO at Palm Springs, and the USO at Ontario International Airport. "Here at the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX, we serve about 40,000 troops and their families each year," said Michael Tielmann, Executive Director of the USO Greater Los Angeles Area. "Fifty percent of them are US Marines just graduating from Camp Pendleton and moving on to additional training."
Tielmann explained that GIs can be waiting in the airport anywhere from 2 to 12 hours and typically are without extra cash as they send money home to spouses and children. The airport USO stations include free libraries of books, DVDs, and CDs for service members to take on a long plane ride. Food is plentiful, available 24 hours a day, and the cost is free. Today's troops can utilize the USO's free Internet for emails and blogs. Video recording equipment is also available. Other amenities include cell phones, TV lounges, nap rooms, family rooms, soft drink machines, holiday dinners and holiday cards for loved ones. All provisions are free of charge to military personnel past and present and their families. Tielmann says the USO has created "safe havens for millions of troops going into an unknown future."
It's been called a critical part of US defense--a unique morale booster that delivers a piece of home to millions of US troops and since its establishment in 1941 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, its mission has remained the same: to provide morale, welfare, and recreational services to service members and their families. It is the United Services Organization, more commonly known as the USO.
In the 2003 airing of War Stories with Oliver North: A Salute to the USO on Fox News Channel, host Oliver North led viewers on a journey through the history of the revered organization from its inception to today. Along the way, he shows us why the USO is far more, both home and abroad, than just entertainment for the young men and women serving our country.
The War Stories crew found the USO in two of the world's most dangerous locations. "They were out in Iraq and Afghanistan so we teamed up with them to let the American people know what a valuable part they are," said North, whose parents met at a USO dance.
In 1940, while Europe was in the throws of the second World War, Roosevelt conceived of an organization whose mission would serve to boost morale and fulfill the recreational needs of the troops. By February, 1941 the private, non-profit United Services Organizations was formed through a cooperation of six existing service organizations including, the Traveler's Aid Society, the National Catholic Charities, the National Jewish Welfare Board, the YMCA, the YWCA, and the Salvation Army.
The following year, 37-year old actor and comedian Bob Hope unwittingly made his USO debut when he was asked to perform his radio show from March Field in California. Bob's son, Tony Hope, spoke to War Stories about his father's participation, "He wasn't really enthusiastic about it until he got out there and found out that there was an outdoor show with forty thousand GIs in the audience, and they were the best audience he'd ever seen. They roared at all the jokes." This performance ignited a legendary love affair between Hope and this new organization that would continue for decades.
On December 7, 1941, just nine days after the opening of the first government-built USO club in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States was plunged into World War II.
Soon entertainers were recruited to perform at bases all over the US. Anyone from small vaudeville acts to big Hollywood stars like Bing Crosby, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Mickey Rooney were asked to participate. In just six months, 3,791 shows were performed in front of more than two million people in the armed services.
For most entertainers, the commitment to a USO tour is a significant one. They are unpaid and often forego lucrative performances back home in exchange for the gratitude of America's soldiers. Such was the case in the summer of 1943 when Bob Hope and singer/actress Frances Langford dodged air raids in North Africa during their first USO tour. Today, even the biggest stars often perform for free and pay their own costs.
"Wayne Newton goes out there and pays the cost of his band to go with him," North told Red County. "He gives up anything he might be making in Las Vegas. A lot of the major acts do the same thing, performing for nothing, paying their own way to get there. It's a significant financial contribution."
"They do it because they care," adds North. "I think you can say that about every group that goes out there."
Over the years, 7,000 entertainers have performed 273,000 shows for 141 million service men and women since 1941 and when the war ended, the age-old Hollywood saying, "the show must go on!" held true.
"In about 1946 or '47, my father was in a barracks of wounded and disabled [soldiers]," Tony Hope told War Stories. "And in the middle of the show a guy from the back said, 'you're not very funny.' And so my father did some quip about that, and thought, 'well, you know, you can't get everybody in your audience' or something better than that, and after the show, a couple of the doctors came up to him and said, 'you know that guy who said you're not very funny?' My father said, 'yeah.' 'That's the first time he's spoken in three years.'" Apparently even a bad joke has the power to heal.
The end of World War II brought the temporary suspension of USO activities. However, by the early 1950s, the Korean War ushered in a new era that included entertainment from the likes of Doris Day, Irving Berlin, Marilyn Monroe, and Johnny Grant.
Prior to his recent death, Grant vividly recalled Monroe's tour in Korea. "She was just what the doctor ordered. She came riding up in those tanks and wiggling along into the mess halls and all. And she just did her thing. And the guys, they got so excited, their dog tags were panting. And they were yelling, 'Marilyn, we love you.' And it was a love-in, in Korea."
The early 60s threatened bankruptcy for the USO and it was the Vietnam War that saved the organization. In 1963, Saigon was the site of the first USO club opened in a combat zone. Soldiers could write letters or record messages to be sent home. As many as 24,000 calls were placed each month from telephones provided at the center.
Through participation in the USO, entertainers had the unique ability to take the soldiers minds off of the immediate, transforming thoughts of death and destruction into thoughts of laughter and hope. Tony Hope chuckled as he recalled his father's uncanny ability to make people laugh at their own unfortunate situations.
"I remember we'd visit hospitals at night, after the show. The soldiers were realistic about their injuries, and wanted something to lift them a little bit. So he'd just walk into a room with forty beds and guys lying in traction and say, "All right, everybody up!"
No amount of humor could change the attitude of the American public. Negative public opinion about the war spilled over and at times reflected badly on the USO, an organization that many mistakenly thought was an official part of the United States military. Hope and other entertainers like Wayne Newton, Raquel Welch, and Johnny Grant did not allow negative public opinion to sway their efforts. When North asked Tony Hope about his father's commitment to the USO during that complicated time, Tony replied, "Absolutely he continued to go. He was not supporting the officers, or the plan, or the strategy, or the Pentagon, he was there for the troops, those were his guys."
By the end of the war, the USO was again in trouble. A "blue-ribbon" commission was formed in 1974 by the Department of Defense and the United Way to determine if the efforts of the USO were really necessary. After lengthy discussion and a tour of every USO facility, the commission recognized the true value and tangible benefits the organization offered our troops.
The organization continued in its role throughout the 80s and delivered to the troops in the Persian Gulf, the honor of witnessing Bob Hope's final USO tour during the Christmas season of 1990. Hope and Grant each participated in almost 60 USO tours over fifty years.
John Hanson, Sr. Vice President of the USO says, "We talk a lot about entertainment. It's 100% of what people understand about the USO, but it's about 20% of what we do. 80% of what we do is the daily care and feeding of the morale and welfare of troops who are stationed a long way from home."
The USO often sends service members the gift of communication through phone cards and stationery. Volunteers send care packages to troops with touches and tastes of home. They allow service members to be a part of their family's daily life by letting them video record a bedtime story and then return to the soldier a video of the child's reaction. Injured vets have access to multiple programs for care and rehabilitation through the organization. Other USO programs include child-care, support groups, and crisis counseling for the families of fallen service members.
According to War Stories, President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that morale is the greatest single factor in a successful war. Today, after 68 years, the USO operates more than 130 centers worldwide, with overseas centers in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Korea, Afghanistan, Guam, and Kuwait. The organization states that military personnel and their family members visited USO centers more than 5.3 million times last year. If their tagline is any indication, one can safely say the USO expects to be in the business of morale, welfare, and recreation for our service members "until every one comes home."
* For more information on the USO or to make a donation, visit www.USO.org
* War Stories with Oliver North airs Sunday night at 8 PM Eastern and Pacific Time. Previously aired episodes such as the above referenced, A Salute to the USO, are now available for purchase at Amazon.com
BONUS:
Oliver North is the host of "War Stories" on the Fox News Channel. He is a conservative political commentator, a best selling author, a syndicated columnist, an event speaker, and founder of Freedom Alliance, a foundation which grants scholarships to children who have lost a parent in the service of our country. A Vietnam veteran who retired from a 22-year career in the Marine Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel, North received the Bronze Star for valor, the Silver Star, and two Purple Heart medals for wounds in action. North was assigned to President Reagan's National Security Council Staff and served as the government's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator from 1983-1986.
BONUS:
Today, the USO: Greater Los Angeles Area incorporates three Southern California locations, the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX, the USO at Palm Springs, and the USO at Ontario International Airport. "Here at the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX, we serve about 40,000 troops and their families each year," said Michael Tielmann, Executive Director of the USO Greater Los Angeles Area. "Fifty percent of them are US Marines just graduating from Camp Pendleton and moving on to additional training."
Tielmann explained that GIs can be waiting in the airport anywhere from 2 to 12 hours and typically are without extra cash as they send money home to spouses and children. The airport USO stations include free libraries of books, DVDs, and CDs for service members to take on a long plane ride. Food is plentiful, available 24 hours a day, and the cost is free. Today's troops can utilize the USO's free Internet for emails and blogs. Video recording equipment is also available. Other amenities include cell phones, TV lounges, nap rooms, family rooms, soft drink machines, holiday dinners and holiday cards for loved ones. All provisions are free of charge to military personnel past and present and their families. Tielmann says the USO has created "safe havens for millions of troops going into an unknown future."
CATEGORY:
Magazine (Winter 2008)
