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The United Service Organizations

The United Service Organizations (USO) is a volunteer organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military worldwide.

Background

The USO was founded in 1941 in response to a request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide morale and recreation services to uniformed military personnel. This request led six civilian agencies -- the Salvation Army, Young Men’s Christian Association, Young Women’s Christian Association, National Catholic Community Service, National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board -- to unite in support of the troops. The United Service Organizations was incorporated in New York February 4, 1941.

USO centers and clubs opened around the world in order to be a “Home Away from Home” for GIs. The USO 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 a doughnut. The USO also brought Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers to perform for the troops.

At its high point in 1944, the USO had more than 3,000 clubs, and curtains were rising on USO shows 700 times a day. From 1941 to 1947, the USO presented more than 400,000 performances, featuring entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Ann Sheridan, James Cagney, James Stewart, Danny Kaye, The Rockettes, Al Jolson, Fred Astaire, the Andrews Sisters, Joe E. Brown, Lucille Ball, Glenn Miller, Martha Raye, Mickey Rooney, Betty Hutton, Dinah Shore, and most famously, Bob Hope.

In 1950, when the United States entered the Korean War, the USO once again brought its vital services and entertainment tours, including Errol Flynn, Debbie Reynolds, Terry Moore, and (most famously) Marilyn Monroe, to the troops. This effort continued after the war ended, and the USO expanded to serve the more than one million troops who remained stationed overseas. During the 1960s, as tensions escalated in Vietnam, the USO began to open centers in combat zones. The 23 centers in Vietnam and Thailand served as many as a million service members a month, and the USO presented more than 5,000 performances during the Vietnam War featuring stars such as John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis Jr., Phyllis Diller, Martha Raye, Joey Heatherton, Wayne Newton, Jayne Mansfield, Redd Foxx, Rosey Grier, Anita Bryant, Nancy Sinatra, Lola Falana, and (of course) Bob Hope.

To support troops participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, USO centers opened in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar. USO centers number more than 120 around the world. Recently, the USO opened the Rocky Mountain USO Center at Denver International Airport and a second center in Kuwait. The USO provides a variety of programs and services, including orientation programs, family events, travel assistance, free Internet and e-mail access, and recreation services.

Military personnel and their families visit USO centers more than five million times each year. A nonprofit, charitable organization, the USO relies on donations from private citizens, foundations, organizations and corporations. More than 33,000 USO volunteers provide an estimated 371,418 hours of service annually.

In 1943, a United States Liberty ship named the SS U.S.O. was launched. She was scrapped in 1967.

Notable modern entertainers

The following is a partial list of USO performers, since 2001.

External links

Official web site: USO Home
Official web site: USO of San Diego
Official web site: USO of Metropolitan New York
Other web site: USO Clubs in World War II

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Revision as of 00:16, 8 December 2006

Background

Notable modern entertainers

See also

External links