At home or overseas, in 1952 it was serving 3.5million in the armed forces using much the same methods of operation as it did in World War II. The show was fantastic, but the escape the Bob Hope tour provided us in expectation for days before, and after, helped us keep in touch with what we were there for God, Country, apple pie and Ann-Margret! [19][13] The This Is The Army stage production toured worldwide until it closed in October 1945 in Honolulu. USO [55], In 1997, the U.S. Congress honored Bob Hope by declaring him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces. All rights reserved. "[57] In the spring of 1973, Hope began writing his fifth book, The Last Christmas Show, which was dedicated to "the men and women of the armed forces and to those who also served by worrying and waiting." By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. Anybody who has been there would insist on it. Maam? Average performers were paid $100 a week; top stars were paid $10 a day because their wealth let them contribute more of their talents. SIGNED BY McCAIN, SAIGON MENU STORY - 3 MINUTES LONG. In 2009, Stephen Colbert performing his last episode of weeklong taping in Iraq for his The Colbert Report show, carried a golf club on stage and dedicated it to Bob Hope's service for the USO. Hope, of course, was one of the biggest stars involved. The sisters performed extensively for troops of the Allied forces during World War II, frequently singing their hit song, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, as part of their USO performances. The following entertainers performed for U.S. military personnel and their allies in the combat theatre during the Vietnam War (19591975). While local and volunteer talent might be found on the bill, stars of huge magnitude soon gravitated to the events. The eldest daughter of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra went on to have a successful singing career of her own in the 1960s and early 70s. Like someones friend. Celebrity waiters. Bob Hope - 1971 USO Show at Long Binh, Vietnam | Military.com Video Military Life Off Duty Bob Hope - 1971 USO Show at Long Binh, Vietnam An unanticipated problem was encountered, check. Their eyes looked like buttons on a stuffed toy. Dont mean nothin, he said. The annals of wartime history are illuminated by the lives of men and women whose deeds of devotion, courage, and sacrifice have been called heroic. What was that? [7] The USO club was a place to go for dances and social events, for movies and music, for a quiet place to talk or write a letter home, or for a free cup of coffee and an egg. [36] And 126 units had given 5,422 performances to servicemen in Korea and the wounded in Japan. And be careful of the arrows. Everyone fully understood just what was really worth fighting for. But I really felt she was like a girl from back home." There were no toys, no coloring books, absolutely nothing. Krause also would be their escort during their time overseas, he said. What was that? I asked the nearest orderly. Today, she claims that "veterans were still stopping her and thanking her for visiting Vietnam over 30 years later."[38]. Clip from Bob Hope USO tour Cu Chi Vietnam 1968.DVD series available at Time/Life. 3. Three entertainers killed & three wounded in the war Reading a list of early USO performers is reading a who's who of Hollywood's decorated stars: Bob Hope, Raquel Welch, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, Jack Benny, John Wayne, and Elizabeth . Are you admiring the crossbow? a male voice asked. For more than 75 years, the United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) has supported U.S. military members by providing them programs and entertainment during their service. [37], In addition, the USO operated centers at major U.S. airports to provide a lounge and place to sleep for American servicemen between their flights. Photo: Flickr/Peabody Awards The Bob Hope Legacy Reading program allows service members record and send a video of themselves reading a book to their children at home. Danny was okay, with his stories and jokes, but after all, we knew what American men looked like. Patricia Krause traveled to the front lines and to remote locations to deliver care packages of food and toiletries to service members. I re-enlisted. Hope was among the first to say yes. When I looked around, I saw that many of our group had left. New York. I smiled, thinking of home. The USO dissolved in December 1947, after having spent $240million in contributions on Camp Shows, canteens, and other services. Steve Martin is a wild and crazy guy who has brought his unique comedic style to television and the silver screen since the late 1960s. According to Kerry biographer Douglas Brinkley, "When the Swift finally made it back to the My Tho River, the crew confronted the heartbreaking sight of a huge Navy landing craft ferrying the troops back. As we passed the toddlers in the yard, I realized they were barely clothed. From the scaffold-like stage I saw a tall column of black smoke, curling in the distance. Be the first to learn about news, service member stories and fundraising updates from USO. Vietnam War: Racquel Welch 1967 - YouTube Its occupant looked like a young kid. Within five months 36 overseas units had been sent within the Americas, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and during 1942 1,000 performed as part of 70 units. This 1988-1991 television series chronicles the exploits of American women and men on a Vietnam Army base. From June 8 to 11, 2009, TV personality Stephen Colbert traveled to Iraq to film his show The Colbert Report for four days in a USO sponsored event. Stars such as Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth had traveled over a million miles. Many of these people are well-known and well-lauded. Performers Killed During USO, Bond Tours or in Air Raids: Al Bowlly in the 1930s Al Bowlly (January 7, 1899 - April 17, 1941): Al Bowlly was a crooner who rose to fame in the 1930s with Ray Noble's orchestra, known for songs like "The Very Thought of You." In an effort to stop the violence in the region a Multinational Force of peacekeepers composed largely of U.S., Italian and French armed service members was created and sent to the region to attempt a restoration of order. Despite her passing, her USO legacy is cemented in history. Most of us that served in Vietnam were occasionally treated to some entertainment in the form of Go-Go Dancers, singers and musicians who would come to Vietnam and entertain us. Vintage USO photos of celebrities entertaining the troops The name Bob Hope just seems to be synonymous with the USO, as Hope devoted so much time to the organization and the troops. None showed any expression. Let's see how fast you can draw a six-shooter!" It was 1967. Be friendly.. One day, while traveling back to our hotel after a show, I peered out the steel-mesh covered bus windows and saw some children. [24], One author wrote that by the end of the war "the USO amounted to the biggest enterprise American show business has ever tackled. USO historian Julia Carson writes that this "nostalgic hour," designed to cheer and comfort soldiers, involved "listening to music American style" and "looking at pretty girls, like no other pretty girls in the world American girls. This show would be great for our boys in Viet-Nam, he said. I didnt know whether to be impressed or to feel sorry for him. [15][16] He had already been active back home selling war bonds, and donated $100,000 to the USO. [13], These overseas shows were produced by the American Theatre Wing, which also provided food and entertainment for the armed services in their Stage Door Canteens. Upon her departure from Vietnam, Krause became assistant director of public relations for USO National Headquarters in New York. Hope began taking his show on the road after the United States entered World War II and the United Service Organization (USO) started sending Hollywood and radio entertainers to perform for military audiences at bases in North Africa, Europe and the South Pacific. Chico, whose "shoot the keys" piano solos were the heart of his act, often had to do without a piano at all. This page was last edited on 7 April 2023, at 11:05. Her self-sacrificing, tireless devotion did not go unnoticed by the military. One female entertainer wrote about conditions while performing: We've played to audiences, many of them ankle deep in mud, huddled under the ponchos in the pouring rain (it breaks your heart the first two or three times to see men so hungry for entertainment.) MEAs Guide to Short Fiction and Nonfiction, AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. Went right through the fuselage and killed the pilot. [4] The USO was incorporated in New York on February 4,[1] with the first facility erected in DeRidder, Louisiana, 1941. The USO was officially created on February 4, 1941, with one of the first centers opening on May 28 at the Charleston Navy Yard. [52] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization assembled thousands of care packages for troops in mandatory 14-day quarantine en-route home. Berlin, who had written and produced the similar Yip, Yip, Yaphank during World War I, took the entire 165-person cast on tour in Europe in 1942, raising nearly $10million for the Army Emergency Relief Fund. The baby showers allow pregnant military spouses to network and form a community while their spouses are deployed.[54]. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of War, and later with the Department of Defense (DoD), relying heavily on private contributions and on funds, goods, and services from various corporate and individual donors. We continued talking for most of the evening. Looking out the window, I spotted the wreckage of several airplanes. She later wrote in a letter, "Every woman back home wears a halo now, and those who represent her had better keep theirs on, too. Between 1941 and 1947, the USO hosted over 400,000 Camp Shows with 7,000 volunteer entertainers that included Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire, James Cagney, Jack Benny, and many more. USO Camp Shows, Inc. began in October 1941,[12] and by that fall and winter 186 military theaters existed in the United States. An MGM film, Mr. Gardenia Jones, created to assist the USO in its fundraising campaign, was nearly withdrawn from theaters due to objections by the War Department, mainly because of scenes showing soldiers jumping with joy at the opportunity to shower in canteens and rest in overstuffed and comfortable USO chairs. I met her in Nha Trang in 67. At this time, the USO also began centers at major U.S. airports to provide a place for servicemen to lounge and sleep between flights. What do you want? she asked, with a thick French accent. A Senate resolution declared him "a part of American folklore." The USO Takes the Stage | The Saturday Evening Post There were no doors. I followed her into the building. All Rights Reserved. " USO Celebrities That Have Helped Our Troops" - IMDb His pale eyes flickered. The orderlies jumped on him, trying to hold him down while shouting and hitting him. The show opens on Aug. 9 and closes on Aug. 11. That crossbow was given to me by their chief.. According to Emily Yellin, many of the key foot soldiers in the USO's mission were women who were "charged with providing friendly diversion for U.S. troops who were mostly men in their teens and twenties. You can quote me as saying that we should use entertainment as an essential industry so long as it's for the boys in service. Bob Hope. The army formed a Special Services unit that organized such shows and supervised the USO, and the experience from the Soldier Shows led to Irving Berlin's Broadway show This Is the Army. "'The Vietnam War' Sponsor Bank of America Teams With The Lumineers to Support the USO ", Programs for Service Members and Their Families. Roosevelt was elected as its honorary chairman. Over three weeks we performed shows for the Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy, including on two aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The USO strengthens America's military service members by keeping them connected to family, home, and country, throughout their service to the nation. His contribution to the USO began in 1941 and ended with Operation Desert Shield in 1991, spending 48 Christmases overseas with American service personnel. They make everything by hand bow, quiver, and arrows. He pulled out a single arrow. We were thrilled to have Kaye and his entertainers in our area. Suddenly he reached out and grabbed my hand. During the Vietnam War, Hope produced a number of high-rated television specials and began to perceive that the U.S. media had given him a broad endorsement to continue on his work in Vietnam. She held the gate open for me to leave. I have never seen such hopelessness in a human face. '[41], In NovemberDecember 1968 the Sig Sakowitz troop from Chicago performed over 36 shows in South Vietnam with the USO in: Pleiku, Dalat, Danang, Cam Ran Bay, Phu Bai, Phu Loy, Hue, Natrang, Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon and places in the boonies known only to military intelligence and the lonely soldiers yearning for a taste of home. I rang it, wondering if I should get the hell out of there. [35]:51. A squadron gave Patricia Krause a flag hand-made in Vietnam by the locals. 10. General William Westmoreland spoke about his loyalty to the GI throughout the gritty Vietnam years. The USO has a paid staff of approximately 800. entertainers toured the bases in Vit Nam to support the troops. A 1956 Seattle Times article reported that Krause maiden name: Mack was a member of the Womens Navy Reserve Officer Corps during her time at Seattle University. Entertainers are Bob Hope, Les Brown and orchestra, Earl Wilson, Phil Crosby, Racquel Welch, Barbara McNair, Elaine Dunn, and Madeline Hartog-Bel (Miss World). Would you like to come in?, She opened the gate and led me toward a one-story cement building. USO tours to the front lines include a diverse group of entertainers, such as in the 2018 USO Chairman's Tour, which featured actors Milo Ventimiglia . You try to keep their spirits up. The USO has hosted more than 8.1 million center celebrity visits across the world. Divorced. Krause would then offer to send copies of letters as well as names and addresses to service members who would otherwise go for weeks without a single postcard. She adds, however, that the G.I.s in the USO audiences "tended to see these women in a different light as reminders of and even substitutes for their girls back home, as a reward for fighting the war, as embodiments of what they were fighting for. Veths letter explained that Krause quickly realized upon arrival in Vietnam that many service members did not receive correspondence from the homefront, so she decided to change that. Each club had a snack bar, gift shops, a barbershop, photo developing, overseas phone lines, and hot showers. Stars turn backs on America's troops in Iraq - The Guardian According to Westheider, "The young women wore miniskirts no slacks were allowed." I must have passed inspection, since he went on talking. In any event, even the most ramshackle shows brought loud cheers from the troops, overjoyed that anybody had come to perform for them, let alone some of the finest talents Hollywood had to offer. List of entertainers who performed for American troops in Vietnam, Soapography, "Rick Springfield and Kimberly McCullough", aired June 16, 2007, on SOAPnet, "List of entertainers who performed for American troops in Vietnam", Learn how and when to remove this template message, Denise Perrier (African American Female Entertainers in Vietnam), The Ralph Kimbrough and Dee Steele Show (1969), On the Road: USO Shows: Bob Hope and American Variety (Library of Congress), Bob Hope's Overseas Christmas Tours: Around the World with the Troops 19411972 (1980)(TV) (IMDb.com), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_entertainers_who_performed_for_American_troops_in_Vietnam&oldid=1126390848, Quintessence 1970 (Clive and Stanley Romney, Sheryl Albiston, Jack McDonald, Ruth Sorensen), This page was last edited on 9 December 2022, at 02:50. The Military Order of the Purple Heart notes that "his contributions to the USO are well known: they are legend. Approx 3,000 American U.S.O. 1967-12-25 Bob Hope USO Christmas Show Long Bihn Bear Cat South Vietnam "Twelve reels of silent and composite coverage of the Bob Hope, USO Christmas Show. And bandleader Les Brown, who was with him during many of his tours, mentioned that his band "had seen more of Hope's ass in the last forty years than any of Hope's immediate family. Everybody was sent to a government health clinic for a series of shots against tropical diseases. I cant take it. Our History USO San Diego This is the first time since Ive been in this country that Ive felt like a human being. I saw the back of her habit flutter in the doorway, as she walked into the building. That Id been forbidden to go outside and was afraid Id be in trouble? It was only thirty dollars and change. In 1991, 20th Century Fox produced the film For the Boys, which told the story of two USO performers, and starred Bette Midler and James Caan. Hugh O'Brien, famous as TV's Wyatt Earp, was the star of a USO tour in Vietnam. Eleanor Roosevelt on White House lawn with "Hollywood Victory Caravan" entertainers (seated, from left) Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), Joan Blondell (1906-1979), Charlotte Greenwood (1890-1977), Charles Boyer . They might still be poisonous.. They went as volunteers to entertain, and celebrities continue to provide volunteer entertainment in military bases in the U.S. and overseas, sometimes placing their own lives in danger by traveling or performing under hazardous conditions. But the malaria wont go away. He was skinny, with wispy red hair, translucent white skin covered with freckles, pale green eyes. We've played to audiences in small units of 500 or so, and much oftener to audiences of 8 to 10,000. Senator John Kerry recalled how important this kind of diversion would become. DAR and the Colquitt County Arts Center are collaborating to produce a USO show as a tribute to Vietnam veterans. We've played with huge tropical bugs flying in our hair and faces; we've played to audiences of thousands of men, audiences spreading from our very feet to far up a hillside and many sitting in the trees. Four hundred Marines stationed in Beirut attended the show.[45]. Im sure many of them would have wanted to help. Bob Hope was an early and familiar face on the USO circuit during World War II and Vietnam; other celebrities include Steve Martin, Gary Sinise with his Lt. Dan Band . The USO relies on your support to help service members and their families. Haunted by Vietnam: Three Weeks in the USO - Military Experience & the Arts "USO" redirects here. Now you tell me? At the height of the USO, in 1944, there were over 3000 clubs, and there were 700 shows a day. The Guinness Book of Records called him the most honored entertainer ever. Please support The Veterans Site by adding us to your ad blockers whitelist ads help us to provide food and supplies to veterans. Photo credit USO. God bless you, she said, leading me outdoors. "[9] An article in Look magazine at the time, stated, "For the little time the show lasts, the men are taken straight to the familiar Main Street that is the goal of every fighting American far away from home." Veth praised Krause for her work in both her roles with the USO in Vietnam and notes her acceptance of the National Jewish Welfare Boards Certificate of Achievement in 1966 and the certificate of appreciation she received from Army Gen. William C. Westmoreland, who commanded American forces in Vietnam from 1964-68. The Andrews Sisters were a popular singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie music eras. Oblivious. Our liaison officer had warned us not to go into the streets alone, but I was curious. There was a noticeable darkening of mood from everyone, soldier and performer alike. Seemed to be studying me. Lets see how fast you can draw a six-shooter!. It's heartbreaking.[4]. We thumped and jittered over huge potholes and uneven terrain that served as a runway. And during his 1993 televised birthday celebration, when he turned 90, General Colin Powell saluted Hope "for his tireless USO trouping", which was followed by onstage tributes from all branches of the armed forces. To support troops participating in Operation Desert Shield, USO centers opened in Saudi Arabia. I watched from the stage, along with the entire cast of Guys and Dolls, as the soldier was hoisted up by his cheering buddies and tried to out-draw OBrien. [9], In 2011, the USO was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama "for contributions to lifting the spirits of America's troops and their families through the arts".[10]. Photo credit USO, On a lighter but still important point, Veth wrote about Krauses insistence on dressing femininely despite the less-than-ideal conditions in which she would find herself. 4. Thankfully, Laurel and Hardy's Driver's License sketch needed only a few simple props. They went to black businesses and fraternal organizations in order to find sponsorship for their USO group, and later expanded to fulfill the needs of soldiers during the Korean War. They have bigger ones for four men that shoot down full-size choppers. One service member recalled, "Hope was funny, treating hordes of soldiers to roars of laughter. In the Detroit News article, Krause described what it was like to hear mortar shells flying past her Saigon residence: You can hear them coming, she said.