When was the uso established

By , the military had grown from 50, to 12 million men and women. With the rapid growth grew a need for a variety of services. The purpose: to serve the educational, religious, social, spiritual welfare and entertainment needs of the armed forces, was immediately created by the USO. The facilities were opened in such unlikely places as churches, log cabins, castles, barns, beach clubs, yachts, railroad sleeping cars, storefronts, museums and old mansions.

The USO centers meant many things to the military. They could be a place for coffee and doughnuts, a lively place to dance and meet other people, view a movie, write a letter, or find religious counsel. With the beginning of the war in , they expanded their efforts to bring live entertainment for fighting Americans overseas.

The 7, grease-painted entertainers, some of whom were famous, came from all over the world and performed for audiences of 25 to 15, At its peak in , both recreation and entertainment for the soldiers were provided in more than 3, communities at home and abroad. They eventually opened 24 clubs worldwide. Rallying to the needs of the service men and women, the USO entertainers gave thousands of performances in Korea. By , there were daily performances for wounded soldiers in the evacuation hospitals of Japan.

Even with the truce in , the need for USO services did not decrease. With more than a million service members stationed abroad, the Department of Defense requested continued service for the military, and the USO expanded its efforts worldwide.

The s brought many challenges to the USO, now that several clubs were located in combat zones. In the first USO center opened in Saigon , Vietnam, which was followed by 17 centers throughout the country, and six in Thailand. Serving a million clients a month, the show went on.

Even with some Americans at home debating Vietnam War policies, the USO continued to assist soldiers far away from home, by whatever means necessary. In camps all over the world, entertainers like Bob Hope, The Andrews Sisters and even John Wayne strutted their stuff for enormous crowds of homesick servicemen—over 7, entertainers and over , shows between and alone.

And military enthusiasm about the USO was so raucous that a short film about a USO canteen starring a young Ronald Reagan was almost pulled from distribution by the Army, which objected to its portrayals of men literally jumping with excitement and fighting for the chance to take showers and rest in comfortable chairs.

Pryor for the New York Times in June More than 1. When the war ended, the organization temporarily disbanded until the Korean War, when it was reorganized. Today, the USO has over volunteer-staffed centers worldwide and even its own Congressional caucus.

What started as a way to rein in the appetites of enlisted men has become part and parcel of the way Americans see—and care for—the military. Contact us at letters time. Postcard depicting officers at USO Club.

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