USO Shows in the Vietnam War
Bob Hope started his USO Shows in WWII. Orland Taylor, a sergeant stationed in Pusan, Korea received a renew strength after Bob Hope went to Korea to entertain the troops in 1952. This helped the soldiers moral so much that Bob Hope continued to entertain the troops during WWII and continued the tradition during the Vietnam War.
Lingering doubts about the need for the USO vanished with the rapid buildup of troops in Vietnam. The USO opened its first center in Saigon in September of 1963. In 1965, the USO announced plans to expand its services in South Vietnam, a decision welcomed by President Lyndon Johnson. At the beginning of the U.S. withdrawal in 1972 the USO had 18 centers in Vietnam and seven in Thailand. In addition, entertainers performed 5,600 USO Shows in Vietnam between May 1965 and June 1972, highlighted by eight consecutive Bob Hope Christmas Shows. The unpopularity of the Vietnam War at home made USO centers and shows all the more important to America’s fighting force.
Public support of the USO again declined following the U. S. withdrawal from Vietnam. The United Way and DOD jointly commissioned a Blue Ribbon Study Committee to determine if the USO had become obsolete as a result of the initiation of the "all volunteer armed forces." The Committee concluded that "if there were no USO, another organization would have to be created" to replace it. "Isolation of the military from civilian influences is not, we believe, in the interest of this nation." With this endorsement, the USO reemerged in the early 1970s with programs and services designed to meet the changes in the military population, many of whom were married.
picture credit:
A sample of the entertainer's classic Jokes:
• On Golf:
"I set out to play golf with the intention of shooting my age, but I shot my weight instead!"
"Incidentally, the toughest part of the course for me nowadays are the sand traps. It's not hard to get the ball out ... the problem is to get me out, at my age!"
"I asked my good friend Arnold Palmer how I could improve my game. He advised me to cheat!"
• On U.S. Presidents:
Harry Truman: "He rules the country with an iron fist — the same way he plays the piano."
Dwight D. Eisenhower: "I happen to know why he's running for president. It's the only way he can get out of the Army. ... If he slices the budget like he slices a (golf) ball, the nation has nothing to worry about."
John F. Kennedy: "Eisenhower said, 'Congratulations on your victory.' And Kennedy replied, 'I had to win. It's so tough these days to find a place that'll take children.' "
Lyndon Johnson: "You can tell he used to be a rancher. He squeezes Republicans like he's milking a cow."
Richard Nixon: "I told Nixon to burn the (Watergate) tapes. He told me to burn my golf clubs."
Gerald Ford: "It's not hard to find Gerry Ford on a golf course — you just follow the wounded. ... I love playing golf with Gerald Ford. He makes me feel like I'm back performing in a war zone."
Jimmy Carter: "Carter wants to go to Washington. He'll feel right at home there — he was raised on a nut farm."
Ronald Reagan: "Some people are claiming that Ronald Reagan is too old to be president. But I like Ronnie. He's smart, he's honest, and he's the only candidate who calls me 'Sonny.' "
George H.W. Bush: "The L.A. Times gave George Bush a 'C' on his first 100 days in office. No one knows what Dan Quayle got. He claims he lost his report card on his way home from the White House."
Bill Clinton: "Clinton loves to make long speeches. In fact, his will be the first inaugural address with an intermission."
• On Life:
"I was able to find my original birth certificate, but it took three guys to help me get it. Stone tablets are heavy."
"I came from a very big family. Four of us slept in the same bed. When we got cold, Mother threw on another brother."
"In all there were seven brothers. That's how I learned to dance waiting for my turn in the bathroom."
"I left England at an early age, as soon as I was old enough to realize they already had a king."
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jul/29/ln/ln05a.html
Important
Dates in USO History
February 4, 1941: The USO is incorporated under the laws of
the State of New York.
October 30, 1941: USO establishes Camp Shows, Inc.
November 28, 1941: The first government-built USO club opens at
Fayetteville, North Carolina.
December 31, 1947: All USO clubs and facilities are closed, and
the organization is given an honorable discharge by President Harry S Truman.
January 1951: The USO is reactivated for the Korean War under a
Memorandum of Understandings between the president and the Department of
Defense.
1962-63: The Hannah Survey reaffirms the need for a peacetime
USO.
September 1963: USO opens its first club in Saigon, Vietnam;
seventeen others are established in Vietnam over the next nine years.
December 1964: Bob Hope makes his first Christmas Tour of
Vietnam.
June 1972: All USO clubs in Vietnam are closed as American
troops withdraw.
December 20, 1979: President Jimmy Carter signs the USO's newly
granted congressional charter.
May 30, 1985: The Bob Hope USO Center and World Headquarters
opens in Washington, D.C.
September-December 1990: The USO opens two centers in the
middle East in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
February 4, 1991: The USO celebrates is fiftieth anniversary.
http://www.uso.org/Dubai/default.cfm?contentid=716
Website created by Taylor Glenn, Kelly Mack, and Josh Blackwelder US History since WWII 2004-2005
