Always Home: 50 Years of the USO, the Official Photographic History, Frank Coffey (HC, with DJ and clear cover, 1991, $5)
In 1940 America had no interest in going to war, but even so, a peacetime draft was started. Suddenly almost a million men were gathering at military training camps. These camps were usually located outside small towns which had no facilities to provide recreation for a lot of lonely, displaced soldiers. The soldiers were not happy. The small towns were not happy. The military was not happy with their soldiers' low morale.
Six organizations stepped up to the plate to form the United Service Organization. FDR would decide to keep it under civilian control. The first USO centers set up anywhere they could, be it barns or railroad cars. Each local center set its own rules. All kinds of services were provided: letter writing, food, places to rest or bathe, religious counseling or just plain companionship. After the war started, assistance was provided for the wounded in military hospitals. Then came the overseas entertainment shows. Even before Pearl harbor, Bob Hope was producing a radio show in California. He graduated to touring Alaska in 1942, and then to the war zone of North Africa in 1943.
After the war the USO downsized to almost nothing, but came back in 1948 after the Berlin airlift, and even more so during the Korean War. The USO was again nearly eliminated in 1964, but was resurrected by the Vietnam War. This time around, shows were held in areas just outside combat zones. Bob Hope was nearly killed in Saigon by a Viet Cong bomb. (Luckily he was 10 minutes late in arriving at his hotel!)
After 1973 the USO changed with the times. The now all-volunteer forces were younger, and more often married, and with children. There were also more blacks, and more women. Yet in the early 1980s fewer celebrities volunteered. Eventually the celebrities came back, even the whole cast of Happy Days!
This book ends in 1991, but the USO continues with centers in 27 states and 14 counties. Their motto is "Until Every One Comes Home." Included here are mostly photos of celebrities, but also pictures of just plain soldiers, usually with smiles on their faces.
On a personal note, my grandmother made potato chips and pretzels for the USO center in Hagerstown, Md. I don't know how you "make" chips or pretzels, but she did.
Sorry about the length of this blog, but I felt the USO deserved it.
Thanks to those who serve, and to those in the USO. Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 3/7 (later: photo)
