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Show Entertainers Travel Rough and Perilous Circuit Taking USO-Cam- p With Ernie Pyle at the Front Doolittle Meets Doolittle; Son Drops In on Father Shows to Remote Fighting Fronts One Hundred Troupes Play to Soldiers in Open-Ai- Tokyo Bombing Hero Has Still Another Namesake to Greet in Same 8th Air Force Theaters r That familiar truism of the the show must go on trouper has taken 6n a new and vastly different meaning since the adp vent of shows those traveling troupes that follow our troops all over the world. True to tradition, the show, of course, does go on from the back of an 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 glaciers of the Arctic, at base hospitals behind firing lines, in the shadow of smouldering Vesuvius, or on newly won territory in Europe. By Ernie Pyle ( Editor's Note: Due to transmission delays, brought on by the volume of invasion dispatches, Ernie Pyles first reports on that historic event have not yet reached this country. The following dispatch was written before the invasion started.) USO-cafn- No longer, however, does the audience go to the show; the show is taken to the audience an audience, by the way, that now numbers more than 11,000,000 men and women of our armed forces to whom, by orders of the War department, the show goes on in combat zones in every area where our fighting forces are located. Its something new for both the show business and the army to include traveling troupes in the armys special services. That is, it was new until Pearl Harbor. Now theyre as much a part of the army fare as GI chow, and equally as essential. One is a physical necessity, the other a psychological stimulant. In the last two and a half years, p shows have grown from a mere experiment to a g activity that would stagger the most traveled old trouper to contemplate. p shows operate Today, approximately 100 units in combat zones in every sector of the fighting fronts. For obvious reasons of military expedience no estimate of the house count at these performances has been made public, but its a safe guess that the SRO sign was out at every one. In the western hemisphere another 100 p shows are appearing at army camps and naval bases, with an estimated monthly attendance of 2,000,000 men and women of the armed forces who are kept laughing bjy professional entertainers of stage, screen and radio. p shows are operated as an activity of USO (United Service organizations) and are financed by the National War fund, of which USO is a member agency. Stage Stars Volunteer. From headquarters occupying half a dozen floors in a building at 8 West Fortieth street, New York p shows plan, preCity, pare and direct the assembling of both talent and programs for the various units. Paid entertainers, recruited from theatres, night clubs and vaudeville booking agencies, constitute the permanent orcirganization of the world-wid- e cuits. Augmenting the regular staff are stars of Broadway and Hollyn wood, together with who volunteer radio personalities, their service for a limited period. In obtaining volunteers from the p shows has screen colony, the cooperation f the Hollywood Victory committee which has enlisted many of the foremost stars of motion pictures. Among notables of the .cinema who have been memp shows to enterbers of tain our boys in combat zones were: Joe E. Brown, William Gargan, Marlene Deitrich, Adolph Menjou, Paulette Goddard, Gary Cooper, USO-Cam- far-flun- USO-Cam- USO-Cam- USO-Cam- USO-Cam- well-know- USO-Cam- USO-Cam- LONDON. (by wireless) Here Ive been gallivantin around with lieutenant generals again. If this keeps up Im going to lose my amateur standing. This time it is Jimmy DoHittlp, who is still the same magnificent guy with three stars on his shoulder that he used to be with a captains bars. General Doolittle runs the American Eighth air force. It is a grim and stupendous job, but he manages of humor about it. Doolittle, as you know, is rather short and getting almost bald. Since arriving in England from Italy he has diabolically started a couple of false rumors circulating about himself. Sgt. Robert Banks pulse and respiration went up several points One is that his nickname used to when this band of entertainers dropped into this hospital tent in the be Curly, and he occasionally Aleutians. Players left to right are Naomi Stevens, Mary Lee, throws his head Grace and Harry Masters, and George Cerutti. back as though Una Merkel, George Raft, Phyllis bombings on the Island of Pantel-leri- a, tossing hair out of his eyes. His Brooks, Frederic March, Louise gave a performance in an other claim is ' Andy Arcari, Jean Clyde, underground airplane hangar. that he used to Bob Hope, Keenan Wynn, A1 Jolson Another camp show troupe actually be six feet tall and John Gavfield. a show in a submarine. gave but has worried from an Although the screen luminaries tour, Returning himself down to volunteer for a minimum of 12 members of one camp show unit anhis present small weeks, some of them trouped the nounced that they had become various circuits for as long as 30 authorities on the sands of the height in the past five months. inconall world. kinds of weeks, enduring They had played in yellow veniences and hardships, but taking sandstorms in Egypt; in red sandJimmy Doolittle has more gifts in them stride and actually enjoying storms in Tunisia that had dyed the experience. Many of the lesser-know- n their hair, face and clothes a bright than any one man has a right to be red; and in white sandstorms in blessed with. He has been one of paid entertainers on ping tours of 50,000 and Iran that made brunettes look like Americas greatest pilots for more than 25 years. He is bold and com100,000 miles have been out for as platinum blondes. While up in long as 11 months, visiting little outmountains, they suffered pletely fearless. Along with that o in remote regions, isolated posts cold; down in the valleys, he has a great technical mind and a in to wrap themselves in highly perfected education in engihad Central and East Africa, they camps army transport command stops in wet sheets in order to sleep in the neering. the Arabian wilderness, or lonely In addition to his professional skill heat road camps in the he is one of the most engaging huTravel Through Mine Fields. ' mountains of Iran. Another troupe that spent months mans you ever ran across. His The business of obtaining the tal- with fliers at advanced voice is clear and keen, he talks ent and putting together a show unit never took a trip to a nearby with animation, and his tone carp is the function of shows, encampment when they didnt have ries a sense of quick and right dea function usually conducted on spe- to pick their way through mine cision. cific orders from the army special fields. Once they parked their trailer He is one of the greatest of storyservices division which requisitions truck two feet from a live land tellers. He is the only man Ive entertainment by much the same mine. It was the heartbreaking ex- ever known who can tell stories all method as GI supplies are ordered. perience of this troupe of getting to evening long and never tell one In typical army terseness, a direc- know some of the boys who were youve heard before. He can tell tive will be issued to camp shows for destined not to return from their them in any dialect, from Swedish a certain type of entertainment to missions. Once the troupe went to Chinese. be provided by a specified number miles in their truck to give an unof performers for a designated area scheduled show when they learned Above all he loves to tell stories p shows follows that a certain squadrons com- on himself. Here is an example: and time. instructions. He was at a Flying Fortress base manding officer had been shot down At the designated time and place, that day. one afternoon when the planes were the show is turned over to the army, Another camp show unit that coming back in. Many of them had and thereafter it is practically as started a North African show with been pretty badly shot up and had much a part of the army as the GI an audience of 1,500 soldiers, had wounded men aboard. Joes. Where the show goes, when it the disconcerting experience of seeThe general walked up to one goes, how long it stays and when it ing ten men leave, then ten more, from which the crew had just plane does its stuff are all prescribed then another ten, until finally they out. The upper part of the tail got of handful mere to a food, were playing by the army. Transportation, gun turret was shot away. General sleeping quarters are furnished by restless soldiers. Afterward, they Doolittle said to the the army. Many performers give learned that a landing by enemy Were you in there when it haptheir service; others are paid nomi- commandoes had been reported and their audierice had been called out pened? nal salaries. The gunner, a little peevishly, reto track them down. Troupers Endure Heat, Cold. are plied: show performances Camp Although details of the tours are Yes sir. attended by hazards and handled by the army with charac- often as As the general walked away the and as discomforts well perils teristic military precision, putting inconveniences. One troupe played annoyed gunner turned to a fellow on the show many times isnt road camps in the crewman and said in a loud voice: at seven weeks exactly a cinch. In fact, it is often Iran mountains that were mainWhere in the hell did he think I attended by difficulties, hazards or over route the out buying a ham sandwich? to tained was, open keep interruptions. Even the army isnt which supplies were goarms A frightened junior officer, fearand theable to provide transportable to Russia. Bandits were in the ing the general might have overatres, stage props and equipment. ing and the troupers heard, said: neighborhood, Tramping the boards, a familiar couldnt leave the camps without My God, man, dont you know expression of the trouper, is exactly, armed guards. who that was? show with entertainers, that Camp Sure I know, the Air Raid Halts Show. for the show is usually given from I and dont action sudden snapped, Sometimes give a damn. enemy of boards a crude, improvised stage to halt a per- That was a stupid question. it makes necessary is audience the wherever thrown up With which Jimmy Doolittle, the formance in the middle of its most stationed. moment. In least or stupid of people, fully agrees dramatic interesting in be of show a The locale may frehe tells the story. when are the players a jungle where the temperature Italy where front behind the close 130 climbs to as high as degrees; it quently interruptions are not inmay be at a lonely mountain side lines, such In Jimmy tells these stories wonderone instance when outpost, or in the midst of desert frequent. fully, with more zest and humor p show unit, enemy planes roared over during a than I can put into them secondwastes. One between performance, the audience and the handed. As he says, the heartunexpectedly landing troupers sat in darkness for hours breaks and tragedies of war someuntil the alarm passed and the show times push all your gaiety down could continue. into the depths. But if a man can One troupe touring the Iran valley keep a sense of the ridiculous about outposts had to travel 140 miles, himself he is all right. Jimmy Doothrough mountains, in a caboose. little can. There were 136 tunnels, and every time the train went through a tunLieut. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, head nel it was like going into an oven. of the Eighth air force over here, in the At a mountain stop Iran, noticed one day in the roster of offplayers learned that the boys sta- icers at his staff headquarters the tioned there hadnt had fresh meat name of a Captain Doolittle. in weeks. They organized a huntname is not a very ordinary The ing expedition and, armed with he and made a mental note 11 one, wild boars. army pistols, shot he would look the felsome that day hit that was a show Their great low up for a little chat. One day and them We ham, gave night. not long after that his phone rang fed them ham, too, they said. and the voice at the other end said, the in and out, day Thus, day This is Captain Doolittle. show goes on making every stop AlOh yes, the said the general. Circuit I on the Icicle along can highway in Alaska; the Fox- had noticed your name and I meant hole Circuit in the South Pacific; to call you up sometime. in Egypt, Desert Circuit the Id like to come in and see you, and Arabia. And said the voice at the other end. toured Iran, Lybia Africa, Comedian Joe E. Brown for many as rapidly as our fighters. advance; Why yes, do that, the general the south Pacific area p shows are ordered up to remote jungle into said. Im pretty busy these days, months, pushing battle-weary combat enter-- f entertain the switch you to my aide and but Ill islands. Here he is shown theatroops and provide an antidote for hell make an appointment for you. air lining soldiers at an open operational fatigue. ter in Australia. All-britto- n, sleeper-jum- snow-cover- ed sub-zer- 145-degr- ee snow-cover- ed air-fiel- ds USO-Cam- USO-Cam- tail-gunne- r: tail-gunn- USO-Cam- , USO-cam- er to keep the famous Doolittle sense Glad you called, Captain. Ill look forward to seeing you. He was just ready to hang up when the voice came back plaintively over the phone: But Dad, this is me. Dont you recognize me? Ive got a package for you from Mom. The general exploded: Well why in hell didnt you say so in the first place! It was Capt. Jimmy Doolittle Jr., a 6 pilot in the Ninth air force. The general hasnt got around yet to seeing the other Captain Doolittle. Itll probably turn out to be his brother or something. B-2- The last time I had seen General Doolittle was some 16 months ago, way down at the desert airdrome of Biskra on the edge of the Sahara. That was when he was running our African bomber force that was plastering the Tunisian ports. General Doolittle flew in ernoon from the far forwardjparty drome of Youks les Bains. Thc&n foi before his entire crew exce'of the the had been killed in months man bombing at the Youks crew had manned their ,i guns until it got too hot, anr made a run for an old bomb 50 yards away. It was one of ! ona-na(j- e ( co-pil- ot , heartbreaking freaks of hard V A bomb hit the crater just as reached it, and blew them al pieces. General Doolittle has written h ' dreds, perhaps thousands, of lettj to people who have lost sons or bands in his air forces. But on the men in that crew was the h est subject he has ever had to home about. Here is the reasf When he led the famous ra j Tokyo, Doolittle had a mechani had been with him a long Doolittle was a colonel then mechanic went on the Tokyf with him. You remember the details $ raid, which have gradually st out. The planes were badly tered. Some were shot down Japanese territory. Others ran . of gas. Some of the crews bailed out. Others landed in Russia. The remainder splattered themselves all over the rice paddies of China. That night Doolittle was lower than he had ever been before in his life. There wasnt any humor in the world for him that night. He sat with his head down and thought to himself: You have balled up the biggest chance anybody could ever have. You have sure made a mess of this affair. Youve lost most of your planes. The whole thing was a miserable failure. Youll spend the rest of your life in Leavenworth for this, and be lucky to get out of it that easy. As he sat there this sergeant-mechani- c came up and said: Dont feel so bad about it, Colonel. Doolittle paid no attention. But the sergeant kept at him. Its not as bad as it seems. Why, Ill bet you that within a year youll have a Congressional Medal for it and be a brigadier general. Doolittle just snorted. Well, Ill bet you so, the serAnd Id like to ash geant said. one thing. As long as youre flying Id like to be your mechanic. That finally got inside Doolittles gloom. Somebody had confidence in him. He began to buck up. So he said: Son, as long as Ive got an airplane youre its mechanic, even if we live to be a thousand years old. As you know, he did get a Congressional Medal of Honor, and now he has not only one star but the three of a lieutenant general. And that sergeant, who devoted himself to Colonel Doolittle, that miserable night out there in China, was still General Doolittles mechanic the night they landed at Youks les Bains in February of 1943. He was one of the men who ran for the shell hole that night. General Doolittle had to write the letter to his parents. |