25 Facts About USO tour

1.

Involvement in the USO tour was one of the many ways in which the nation had come together to support the war effort, with nearly 1.

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2.

The USO tour initially disbanded in 1947, but was revived in 1950 for the Korean War, after which it continued, providing peacetime services.

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3.

USO tour has over 200 locations around the world in 14 countries and 27 states.

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4.

The USO tour was incorporated in New York on February 4, with the first facility erected in DeRidder, Louisiana, 1941.

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5.

The USO tour club was a place to go for dances and social events, for movies and music, for a quiet place to talk or write a letter home, or for a free cup of coffee and an egg.

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6.

USO tour brought Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers to perform for the troops.

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7.

In 2011, the USO tour was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama "for contributions to lifting the spirits of America's troops and their families through the arts".

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8.

Some USO tour centers provided a haven for spending a quiet moment alone or writing a letter home, while others offered spiritual guidance and made childcare available for military wives.

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9.

USO tour had already been active back home selling war bonds, and donated $100,000 to the USO.

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10.

At its high point in 1944, the USO tour had more than 3,000 clubs, and curtains were rising on USO tour shows 700 times a day.

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11.

In one such instance in 1943, a plane carrying a USO tour troupe crashed outside Lisbon, killing singer and actress Tamara Drasin, and severely injuring Broadway singer Jane Froman.

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12.

USO tour later married the co-pilot who saved her life in that crash, and her story was made into the 1952 film With a Song in My Heart, with Froman providing the actual singing voice.

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13.

USO tour did forty-eight shows for "broken soldiers, " who were mostly lying on stretchers in the lobbies of hotels, watching as she entertained them.

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14.

USO tour was in Vietnam before the first combat troops arrived, with the first USO tour club opened in Saigon in April 1963.

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15.

The 23 centers in Vietnam and Thailand served as many as a million service members a month, and the USO tour presented more than 5,000 performances during the Vietnam War featuring stars such as John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis Jr.

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16.

When providing entertainment, the USO tour did its best to attract known stars from back home to help relieve the stresses of war.

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17.

USO tour remembered a "Bob Hope Follies" USO show, which included actress Ann-Margret, Miss America, football star Rosey Grier, and others.

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18.

USO tour adds that the tours made a "deep impression" on the stars as well.

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19.

USO tour took one look at the photo, tears welled up in her eyes, and she said, 'This is one of my gentlemen from Viet Nam and I most certainly will sign his photo.

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20.

In those years, the USO tour opened centers at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; and Afghanistan.

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21.

The USO tour provides a variety of programs and services, including orientation programs, family events, free Internet and e-mail access, free drinks and snacks, free phone calls home and recreation services.

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22.

USO tour has provided services for the annual "Tribute to the Troops" special of World Wrestling Entertainment.

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23.

USO tour provides services to troops before, during, and after deployment through staffed and unstaffed USO tour centers inside and outside combat zones.

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24.

Since 2008, the USO tour has shipped more than 2,000 kits to places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, and others.

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25.

Additionally, more than 44,000 USO tour volunteers provide an estimated 371,417 hours of service annually.

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