Introduction
My name is Richard Weaver and I'm a some-time writer who enjoys the occasional freelance assignment. In 2000 and 2001, I went along on three USO trips overseas with groups of celebrities visiting U.S. troops in Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, Italy, Hungary, and Korea. The USO is a wonderful organization dedicated to bettering the everyday life of service men and women stationed away from their families. Much has been written about the legendary visits from Bob Hope, Wayne Newton, Ann-Margret, and many others since the USO was founded in 1941. Since my trips, I've become interested in the less-publicized part of the USO: its clubs, canteens, and other facilities in the United States during World War II. I have been collecting antique postcards and other images of these clubs. Please enjoy these color-tinted glimpses into the off-hours of the Greatest Generation. I welcome your comments and stories with the hope that gathering the information here will educate new generations on this under-documented facet of life in wartime America.
posted by Richard Weaver at 7:19 PM
3 Comments:
MDear Mr. Weaver: My name is Henry Lozano. I reside in southern California. I am a script-writer for a non-profit organization here in California, the Ontario/Chaffey Community Showband. Each Veteran's Day, we salute our local veteran's with a special televised program dedicated to them. Next November 11, 2007, I am co-producing the next theme entitled GET TO KNOW YOUR U.S.O. I'm enthralled and estatic at your collection of postcards of the different U.S.O. clubs during WWII. May we have your consent to incorporate these images for our t.v./salute to veterans? Do you have these same images on a single CD-ROM? Our program/producers will be forever appreciative to include these beautiful and nostalgic postcards in their program. I look forward hearing from you. Thank you.
Respectfully,
Henry R. Lozano
Silver Screen Limited
Thanks for posting these images of World War II USO Clubs.
I've been recently going through family correspondence from that time and noticed the letters written on USO stationary and sent in USO envelopes. Likely written in USO clubs.
To learn more about the USO back then, I checked on Wikipedia which then lead me here.
I don't know if anyone I knew was ever in these specific clubs. But they were likely in clubs like these at different times writing home or to friends met in the service. And all these clubs served so many far from home.
Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing these wonderful pieces of history!!
I volunteer with the WWII USO Preservation Association ( ww2uso.org ) If you're willing we'd love to share some pieces from your collection, with proper accreditation given of course!
All the best to you,
Angela
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