An association of agencies, such as the YMCA, the YWCA, and the Salvation Army, whose aims are to care for the recreational needs of the Armed Forces. It was founded in the USA in 1941.
The United Service Organizations (USO) is a volunteer organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military worldwide.
Background
The USO was founded in 1941 in response to a request from President Franklin D. The United Service Organizations, or USO, was incorporated in New York February 4, 1941.
USO centers and clubs opened around the world in order to be a “Home Away from Home” for GIs. The USO also brought Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers to perform for the troops.
At its high point in 1944, the USO had more than 3,000 clubs, and curtains were rising on USO shows 700 times a day. From 1941 to 1947, the USO presented more than 400,000 performances, featuring entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Ann Sheridan, James Cagney, James Stewart, Danny Kaye, The Rockettes, Al Jolson, Fred Astaire, the Andrews Sisters, Joe E.
In 1950, when the United States entered the Korean War, the USO once again brought its vital services and entertainment tours, including Errol Flynn, Debbie Reynolds, Terry Moore, and (most famously) Marilyn Monroe, to the troops. This effort continued after the war ended, and the USO expanded to serve the more than one million troops who remained stationed overseas. During the 1960s, as tensions escalated in Vietnam, the USO began to open centers in combat zones. The 23 centers in Vietnam and Thailand served as many as a million service members a month, and the USO presented more than 5,000 performances during the Vietnam War featuring stars such as John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis Jr., Phyllis Diller, Martha Raye, Joey Heatherton, Wayne Newton, Jayne Mansfield, Redd Foxx, Rosey Grier, Anita Bryant, Nancy Sinatra, Lola Falana, and (of course) Bob Hope.
To support troops participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, USO centers opened in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar. Recently, the USO opened the Rocky Mountain USO Center at Denver International Airport and a second center in Kuwait. The USO provides a variety of programs and services, including orientation programs, family events, travel assistance, free Internet and e-mail access, and recreation services.
Military personnel and their families visit USO centers more than five million times each year. More than 33,000 USO volunteers provide an estimated 371,418 hours of service annually.
Notable modern entertainers
The following is a partial list of USO performers, since 2001.
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