Show entertainers travel rough and perilous circuit taking USO camp shows to remote fighting fronts one hundred troupes play to soldiers in open air theaters T that hat familiar truism of the trouper the show must go on has taken on a new and vastly different meaning since the advent of USO camp shows those traveling troupes that follow our troops all over the world true to 0 tradition the show of course does go on from the back of an n army truck mired in the jungles of new guinea to the accompaniment of grinding winches on a dock alongside a troop transport amid the icy fey glaciers of the arctic at base hospitals behind firing lines in the shadow of amoul dering vesuvius or on newly won territory in europe no longer however does the audience go to the show the show Is t taken aken to the audience an audience by the way that now numbers in more than 10 men and women of our armed forces to whom by orders of 0 the war department the show goes on in combat zones in every area where our fighting forces are located its something new for or both the 9 show how business and the army to include c traveling troupes in the ardys special services that is it was new until pearl harbor now as much a part ot of the arm army fare as GI 01 chow and equally as essential one Is a physical necessity it the other a psychological stimulant lant in the last two and a hall half years USO camp shows have grown from a mere experiment to a far flung a activity c that would stagger the most traveled travale d old trouper to contemplate today USO camp shows operate approximately units in combat zones in every sector of the fighting 11 g doting fronts for obvious reasons of military expedience no estimate of the house count at these performances for mances has been made public but its a safe guess that the SRO sign was out at every one in the western hemisphere another loo USO camp shows are appearing at army camps and naval bases with an estimated monthly attendance of men and women of the armed forces who are kept laughing by professional entertainers of stage screen and radio USO camp shows are operated as activity of USO united service organizations tl ns and are financed by the national national war fund of which USO is 9 a member agency stage stars volunteer prom from headquarters occupying half alf a dozen floors in a building at awes 8 west t fortieth street new york CI city ty USO camp shows plan prepare and direct the assembling of both talent and programs tor for the various units paid entertainers recruited from theatres theartres the atres night clubs club s and vaudeville booking agencies constitute the permanent organization of the worldwide world wide circuits augmenting the regular stas staff are stars of broadway and hollywood together with well known radio personalities who volunteer their services tor for a limited period in obtaining volunteers from the screen colony USO camp shows has the cooperation of the hollywood victory committee which has enlisted many ot of the foremost stars of motion pictures among notables of the cinema who have been members 0 of f USO camp shows to entertain our boys in combat zones were joe E brown william gargan g 77 7 L 0 mgt robert banks pulse and respiration went up several points when this band of entertainers dropped into this hospital tent in the aleutians Aleut ians players left to right are naomi stevens mary lee grace and harry masters and george cerutto Ceru marlene deatrich Del adolph paulette pauletta goddard gary cooper una merkel george rat raft phyllis brooks frederic march louise allbritton andy arcail jean clyde i bob hope keenan wynn al jolson and john garfield Although although the screen luminaries vo volunteer for a minimum of 12 weeks some of 0 them trouped grouped the various circuits for or as long as 30 weeks enduring all kinds of inconveniences ven lences and hardships but ta taking king them in stride and actually enjoying the experience many ot of the le lesser known paid entertainers on sleep er jumping tours of and miles have been out tor for as long as 11 months visiting little outposts in remote regions isolated camps in central and east africa army transport command stops i in the arabian wilderness or lonely road camps in the snow covered moun mountains bains of iran the business 0 ot f obtaining the talent and putting together a show unit is the function of USO camp shows a function usually conducted on specific orders from the army special services division which requisitions entertainment by much the same method as GI supplies are ordered in typical army terseness a diree directive will be issued to camp shows tor for a certain type of entertainment to be provided by a specified number of 0 performers tor for a designated area and time USO camp shows follows instructions at the designated time and place the show is turned over to the army and thereafter it is practically as much a part of the army as the GI joes where the show goes when it goes how bow long it stays and when it does its stuff are all prescribed by the army transportation food sleeping quarters are furnished by the army many performers give their service others are paid nominal salaries troupers troopers Troup ers endure heat cold although details of the tours are handled by the army with c characteristic te military precision putting on the show many times exactly a cinch in tact fact it Is often attended by difficulties hazards or interruptions even the army able to provide transportable the atres stage props and equipment tramping the boards a familiar expression of the trouper is exactly that with camp show enteria entertainers I 1 ners tor for the show is usually given from a crude improvised stage of boards thrown up wherever the audience is stationed the locale of a show may he be in a jungle where the temperature climbs to as high as degrees it may be at a lonely mountain side outpost or in the midst of desert wastes one USO camp show unit 4 J comedian joe E brown toured the south pacific area for man y months pushing into remote jule islands here he is shown enter soldiers at an open air thea for in australia landing unexpectedly between bombings on the island of pantelleria gave a performance in an underground airplane hangar another camp show troupe actually gave a show in a submarine returning from an 11 month tour members of one camp show unit announced that they had become authorities on an the sands of the world they had played in yellow sandstorms sand storms in egypt in red sand storms in tunisia that had dyed their hair face and clothes a bright red ands and in white sandstorms sand storms la in iran that made brunettes look lik like e platinum blondes while u up p in snow covered mountains they suffered sub zero cold down in the valleys they had to wrap th themselves em selves in wet sheets in order to slee sleep p in the degree neat heat travel through mine fields another troupe that spent months with fliers at advanced airfields air fields never took a trip to a nearby encampment when they have to pick their way through mine fields once they parked their trailer truck two feet from a live land mine it was the heartbreaking experience per peri lence ence of this troupe of getting to know some of the boys who were destined not to return from their missions once the troupe went m miles iles in their truck to give an unscheduled show when they learned that a certain squadrons commanding officer had been shot down that day another camp show unit that started a north african show with an audience of 1500 soldiers had the disconcerting experience of seeing ten men leave then ten more then another ten until finally they were playing to a mere handful of restless soldiers afterward they learned that a landing by enemy commandoes comman does had been reported and their audience had been called out to track them down camp show performances are often attended by hazards and perils as well as dis comforts and inconveniences one troupe played seven weeks at road camps in th the e iran mountains that were ma maintained n to keep open the route over which supplies and arms were go ing to russia bandits were in the neighborhood and the troupers troopers troup ers leave the camps without armed guards air raid halts show sometimes sudden enemy action makes it necessary to halt a performance for mance in the middle of its most dramatic or interesting moment in italy where the players are frequently close behind the front lines such interruptions are not infrequent in one instance when enemy planes roared over dur during ing a performance the audience and the troupers troopers troup ers sat in darkness tor for hours until the alarm passed and the show could continue one troupe touring the iran valley outposts had to travel miles through mountains in a caboose there were tunnels and every time the train went through g h a tun nel it was like going into an oven at a mountain stop in iran the players learned that the boys sta cloned there had fresh meat meal in weeks they organized a hunt ing expedition and armed with army pistols shot 11 wild boars baars their show was a great hit bit that night we gave them ham and fed them ham too they said thus day la in and day out the show goes on making every stop on the icicle circuit along the al can highway in alaska the fox hole Cir circuit cult in the south pacific the desert circuit in egypt africa iran lybia and arabia and a as rapidly as our fighters advance nce USO camp shows are ordered up to entertain the battle weary combat troops and provide an antidote lor for operational fatigue |