Four years after his stellar performance as the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939), Hollywood actor and comedian Ray Bolger (1904 – 1987) was performing in many parts of the war-torn Pacific islands on a USO tour for thousands of very grateful GIs and Marines. Attached is a two page reminiscence about one particular Guadalcanal performance, the men he met and the Hell they paid in the years that followed "Early in the year its board of directors had decided that since USO was a national defense and war-related organization, it should not continue in peacetime longer than December 31, 1947 [they were also broke]. The six-member agencies, that had brought USO into being and now arranged for its conclusion, were the Young Men's Christian Association, the National Catholic Community, The Salvation Army, the Young Women's Christian Association, the National Jewish Welfare Board, and the National Travelers Aid Association.
When the Korean War began five years later, Secretary of Defense George Marshall and Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews requested that the USO step up again - and gave them all the money they needed. |
MORE ARTICLES >>> PAGE: * 1 * 2 * |
|
