THE USO
-Bob Hope
One of the greatest things I remember about WW2 era films and historical information is the United Service Organizations (USO). An organization set up to entertain soldiers and keep their morale up, the USO was heroic in its own way, with greats such as Bob Hope doing their best to give the boys fighting and dying overseas a chance to find some peace and joy in their lives, something to give them the energy to go on.
The USO was mocked viciously in the (far too) long version of Apocalypse Now but its still out there and its still trying to do its best to give soldiers a break and some fun in their tough jobs. I got curious about what the USO is up to lately, since it doesn't get much play lately and since helping the troops in a war the left would just as soon ignore isn't as popular with the entertainment industry.
They're really busy. For 69 years, they've been entertaining the troops, giving them a bit of fun before shipping out, and sending entertainers, celebrities, and personalities out for the men and women in uniform overseas. It is a known fact that the enemy sneaks up to watch USO shows from a safe distance in war zones - it happened in Germany, it happened in Korea, and it happened in Vietnam. The USO helps families of soldiers at home with games, internet access, nursery centers and more. They send rock bands and comedians overseas to entertain the troops in some of the more dangerous areas of the world.
Included in the plans for this year are a Dave Atell concert in Delaware, many Lt Dan Band (with Gary Cinise) and Modern West shows (with Kevin Costner), NFL coaches, Bands like Naughty By Nature, Sway, Big Boy and DJ E-Man, Papa Roach, the Whigs, and Toby Keith flying to the persian gulf, Afghanistan, Germany and other places just to play - for free - for our soldiers overseas. The cast of the show Sons of Anarchy are headed to Kuwait to do a show, Sesame Street does regular shows for kids of soldiers. Last year the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders did a show in Korea, The Foo Fighters and Jimmy Fallon entertained troops at the White House, Queensryche did a show in Germany, Miss Universe and Miss USA went to Guantanamo Bay, and TV's Craig Ferguson went to Kosovo and Germany all for the USO.
So along with our troops I want to salute this great, non-profit organization and the work they do.
The USO was mocked viciously in the (far too) long version of Apocalypse Now but its still out there and its still trying to do its best to give soldiers a break and some fun in their tough jobs. I got curious about what the USO is up to lately, since it doesn't get much play lately and since helping the troops in a war the left would just as soon ignore isn't as popular with the entertainment industry.
They're really busy. For 69 years, they've been entertaining the troops, giving them a bit of fun before shipping out, and sending entertainers, celebrities, and personalities out for the men and women in uniform overseas. It is a known fact that the enemy sneaks up to watch USO shows from a safe distance in war zones - it happened in Germany, it happened in Korea, and it happened in Vietnam. The USO helps families of soldiers at home with games, internet access, nursery centers and more. They send rock bands and comedians overseas to entertain the troops in some of the more dangerous areas of the world.
Included in the plans for this year are a Dave Atell concert in Delaware, many Lt Dan Band (with Gary Cinise) and Modern West shows (with Kevin Costner), NFL coaches, Bands like Naughty By Nature, Sway, Big Boy and DJ E-Man, Papa Roach, the Whigs, and Toby Keith flying to the persian gulf, Afghanistan, Germany and other places just to play - for free - for our soldiers overseas. The cast of the show Sons of Anarchy are headed to Kuwait to do a show, Sesame Street does regular shows for kids of soldiers. Last year the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders did a show in Korea, The Foo Fighters and Jimmy Fallon entertained troops at the White House, Queensryche did a show in Germany, Miss Universe and Miss USA went to Guantanamo Bay, and TV's Craig Ferguson went to Kosovo and Germany all for the USO.
So along with our troops I want to salute this great, non-profit organization and the work they do.
posted by Christopher Taylor at 11:18 AM
1 Comments:
The USO also runs community centers overseas.
Having a place to go that wasn't the E-Club, wasn't a dive out on town with tired-looking Filipina strippers, and was just .. a place with couches and magazines and a grill was awesome.
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