A Message from the President

Dear Members, Supporters and Friends, 

What a whirlwind January was! Our team was busy in January submitting six grants for Oral History projects, repairs to the Mansion (time to keep the cats, bats, rats and other critters out!) and our inaugural in-person Time Travelers event coming up in May – we will be sharing a lot more about that soon.

In the meantime, we are working hard on our Stars, Stripes and Swing Gala to be held at Chandler Airfield on March 24th. Proceeds will benefit our educational and curriculum projects as well as our Community Oral History and Photographic programs. For more information, click here. The theme will embrace the 1940s and WWII and will replicate what our local USOs looked like – in fact, we have dozens of photos from that time period that will also be on display.  

Did you know that the United Service Organizations (USO) was founded in 1941 by Mary Ingraham in response to a request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide morale and recreation services to U.S. uniformed military personnel? Roosevelt was elected as its honorary chairman. This request brought together under one umbrella six civilian organizations: the Salvation Army, YMCA, Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), National Catholic Community Service, National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board. The goal was to support U.S. troops cohesively, as opposed to operating independently as some had done during the First World War. Roosevelt said he wanted "these private organizations to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces." According to historian Emily Yellin, "The government was to build the buildings and the USO was to raise private funds to carry out its main mission: boosting the morale of the military."

The first national campaign chairman was Thomas Dewey, who raised $16 million in the first year. The second chairman was future senator Prescott Bush – yes, that name should sound familiar. The USO was incorporated in New York on February 4th, with the first facility erected in DeRidder, Louisiana, 1941. Centers were established quickly ... in churches, barns, railroad cars, museums, castles, beach clubs and log cabins. Most centers offered recreational activities, such as holding dances and showing movies. And there were the well-known free coffee and doughnuts. Some USO centers provided a haven for spending a quiet moment alone or writing a letter home, while others offered spiritual guidance and made childcare available for military wives.

More USO centers and clubs opened around the world as a "Home Away from Home" for GIs. 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. 

But the organization became mostly known for its live performances called Camp Shows, through which the entertainment industry helped boost the morale of its servicemen and women. USO Camp Shows, Inc. began in October 1941, and by that fall and winter 186 military theaters existed in the United States. Overseas shows began in November 1941 with a tour of the Caribbean.

The USO brought Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers to perform for the troops. According to movie historian Steven Cohan, "most of all ... in taking home on the road, it equated the nation with showbiz. USO camp shows were designed in their export to remind soldiers of home." They did this, he noted, by "nurturing in troops a sense of patriotic identification with America through popular entertainment.” 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." Maxene Andrews wrote, "The entertainment brought home to the boys. Their home." Actor George Raft stated at the beginning of the war, "Now it's going to be up to us to send to the men here and abroad real, living entertainment, the songs, the dances and the laughs they had back home.” 

USO promotional literature stated its goals:

The story of USO camp shows belongs to the American people, for it was their contribution that made it possible. It is an important part in the life of your sons, your brothers, your husbands, and your sweethearts. 

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.”

I think that is a terrific history lesson! One can only imagine how much salvation those three little letters – U, S, O – provided to young men who were willingly yet painfully serving our country in places many couldn’t find on a map while witnessing horrors that would haunt them forever. 

On that note, I wanted to mention a documentary that I have been a part of since its inception, Unbroken Honor, which will premiere on Valley PBS February 19th at 5:00pm. I don’t want to give away too much, but the film highlights the ultimate irony of WWII; Japanese American soldiers, all volunteers, elected to fight to free those being held in captivity in Europe while their families, three-quarters of whom were CITIZENS of the United States, were confined behind barbed wire on American soil. An encore broadcast of our Emmy® winning program, Silent Sacrifice, will air at 3pm that same afternoon. I highly recommend both films. The date has extraordinary significance for our country – see ROOTS OF THE VALLEY to learn more. 

Seems like I have a lot to say this month (every month) but I like you all to know how diligently our little team is working to preserve, protect and share the incomparable history of our San Joaquin Valley. 

In the meantime, please support these herculean efforts by becoming a member and coming to our grand Gala!