Celebrity Volunteers

 

 

In the 67 plus years since the first USO Camp Show during WWII, celebrity entertainers have boosted troop morale at more than a half million volunteer performances. The performers’ names and faces have changed over the years, but the effect on service members has remained the same.

What started out as a way to bring entertainment to the troops, became the single greatest entertainment enterprise in show business history. For decades, entertainers have willing volunteered their time to travel and perform morale-boosting shows for U.S. military personnel. A USO tour is the experience of a lifetime, as gratifying for performers as it is for the audience.

 
  • USO camp shows, also called Camp Shows, Inc., was established at the request of military authorities on October 30, 1941, to bring celebrity entertainment to troops in the U.S. and abroad during World War II.
  • From 1941-1947, the USO presented 428,521 performances, entertaining more 212 million service members.
  • By 1945, as many as 700 shows were being produced by the USO each day.
  • During World War II, more than 7,000 entertainers were sent overseas and gave more than 428,000 performances.
  • During the Korean War, some 126 entertainment units put on more than 5,400 shows in Korea.
  • In 1958 when U.S. Marines were suddenly diverted to Lebanon, a USO troupe headed to Germany was quickly diverted to Turkey to perform.
  • Between 1965 and 1972, 569 USO shows, with nearly 3,000 celebrities, professionals and college groups, brought entertainment to service members in Vietnam and the Pacific Hospital Circuit.
  • At the beginning of the 1980s, the momentum and need for USO tours slowed, but through the efforts of entertainers like Bob Hope and Lou Rawls, who urged fellow performers to take part in USO’s activities, a diverse array of artists made their USO debut over the next ten years.
  • Between October 1990 and January 1991, USO produced 14 tours. Throughout the 1990s, the USO brought a diverse blend of music, laughter, and visits from various celebrities to the troops.
  • In 1995, the USO produced 28 tours presenting more than 150 performances in 45 different countries for troops stationed around the world.
  • Nearly 90,000 service men and women enjoyed 28 USO tours by various artists and celebrities in 43 different countries in 2000.
  • In 2001, 53 USO tours traveled to more than 48 countries entertaining 140,000 troops.
  • In 2002, the USO brought more than 200 USO shows to nearly 120,000 service members in 25 countries.
  • In 2003, the USO sent 66 tours and 372 shows to 25 countries, entertaining more than 275,000 service men and women.
  • In 2004, the USO produced 53 tours and 278 shows, entertaining more than 375,000 service members.
  • In September 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit, the USO quickly assembled an entertainment troupe to travel to the Gulf Coast.
  • In 2005, the USO produced 54 tours, entertaining nearly 200,000 soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsman in 31 countries
  • In 2006, the USO produced 58 tours, reaching out to more than 184,000 service members and their families in 26 countries. Of those 58 tours, 328 distinct events were held, including performances, meet and greets, hospital and clinic visits, and movie screenings.