BOB HOPE IN REPORT TO U.S.A.

[Music] so morale is a tricky thing that evaporates in the boredom of inactivity but it expands in the hearts and minds of laughing servicemen i know about that myself when i was a young man about cleveland would know crosby to feed me gags it wasn't so easy to get into trouble we had to go out looking for excitement with something that wasn't nailed down of course we never found any crown jewels in cuyahoga county but we did find trouble that's what boredom did to us the police are still wondering who stole those apples back in 1920. seriously the morale of this nation's army navy and marine corps is the problem of one lively lad multiplied by several million you know during the war our boys in uniform were in every country in the world and on every ocean they were in the hardest place to get to and in the biggest cities keeping up their spirit was a tremendous job which for more than five years in large part rested in the hands of a volunteer group the uso this organization was created by the sixth great welfare agencies representing all faiths and joined together for the first time in our history in a continuing effort for the nation's well-being the united states government gave the uso the duty of serving the boys and our armed forces to do this the uso set up three thousand clubs lounges mobile units and other operations at one time more than 700 shows a day were being given in india across two oceans in france and germany from alaska to brazil and from newfoundland to the south pacific more than 200 million dollars was contributed by the american public for this work and has been spent in a businesslike manner the army and the navy at the suggestion of general eisenhower and admiral nimitz backed by president truman have asked that this great service continue in order to help in the dangerous and difficult transition to final peace the uso said yes we'll continue through 1947 but first we'll have to consult mr and mrs american public show them what we've been doing and ask for the money to finish the job imagine the scope of the uso here's our little gang down in the south pacific how do you like those outfits that's better than wearing the regular pajamas i don't want to give you the impression that i was the whole uso they wouldn't let me and the records show that there were six thousand other camp show entertainers and as for helping the boys and girls in the service one million five hundred thousand volunteered in a thousand different ways to bring them a home away from home no book can tell the whole story neither can a few pictures i can only ask you to imagine how our forces felt when a little bit of the united states was brought halfway around the world to them they joked and laughed and rested it made you feel good to see them they were all at ease in the civilian sense i want you to take a look at a few of the spots where this uso magic paid off take this stranger in a strange land on leaving a city where the pavement is twice as hard as it was at home the streets have no ends no face is familiar people pass and look through you as if you weren't there this gi knows what it feels like if you walk fast he'd get nowhere faster that is if he didn't get to one of the hundreds of uso clubs [Music] they've often been called a home away from home where he can do the familiar things he can telephone if he wants to he can read if he desires dear mom he writes or darling this is the best chance i've had in a week to tell you so now she has it in writing too then there's a council of the church when he wants it your boys get advice on their problems or answers to bothersome questions whatever your faith jewish protestant or catholic each uso club provides a selection of religious publications [Music] there is a place for the boys to get instruction and practice in the arts and crafts indoor athletes have their choice of putting top spin on a ping-pong ball dancing through an evening with gals who can make a guy feel at home and can really dance or making a stout try with elbow fang and straw at the snack bar where there's always a gang and plenty of hot dogs homemade cookies pies and such yes the uso gives you a lot of their clubs and they help you on the move for getting back to camp take a lounge in a railroad station must be showing a crosby picture there it's hours till train time and a guy needs some shut eye he can pound his ear up to the last minute catching up on snores or getting ahead on dreams dead sure the uso girl will say when rough enough to break it up when the shooting war stopped needs for uso services change some programs were dropped others more vitally needed were built up new troops in training felt useless with no war to win morale sagged general eisenhower was thinking about that when he visited uso clubs in the philippines you don't serve in two wars without knowing what happens to an american civilian army when the fighting ends general light put it this way throughout this next year there will be over a million men in the army most of them far from the home community the routine of non-combat duty makes the uso as vital to the morale and well-being of the soldier as it has ever been these boys like most of those who got pacific duty went through the honolulu uso victory club a former department store that in one month served a crop of 447 000 americans in uniform this club had everything there were women to sew for you it would mean to rip anchor a button or in many cases tack on that brand new stripe to show you'd been promoted and if a guy was halfway handy with an iron he could smooth out his own patch and put a crease in his own pants if he could only cook and look at this make a skirt it's not a bad idea that now that soldiers and sailors have more lead they like to see the site so uso runs rubberneck tours to points of special interest in hawaii it has to be up a mountain here's where they said the wind blows so steadily inland you can throw out a dollar bill and have it blown back at you they tell you that i know it's a rumor from a finance company over there think of these trusting boys throwing away all that money and still waiting for it to come back it's like my last visit to santa anita now here's the uso camp show troop just pulling in by truck that's something i know about personally because i traveled plenty of miles with them the way those hard-working kids shipped all over the world to put on the best show they could under terrible conditions was wonderful stages were thrown together when there was a stage tired battle dirty soldiers came early to get a seat or stood in the rain just to get a laugh or enjoy a song entertainers gave everything they had and wish they had more to give those american servicemen with the greatest audiences bar none that we show people ever had take the old handkerchief trick those boys knew tricks of their own tricks of jungle fighting that meant life or death but this little stunt of the handkerchief that could be knotted and untie itself fascinated them most of the big names of hollywood and broadway were in their pitching there was joey brown who played towns in jungles too marlena dietrich spent many months overseas and talked personally to hundreds of gi's beautiful ingrid bergman snaps time between pictures to show up in person in berlin and elsewhere francis langford sang her heart out while we did many thousands of miles together jack benny and larry adler did their stuff yehudi menu and brought his violin lily pond sang for big and little groups and it was only a few days after japan surrendered that the boys of the occupation army heard this announcement the eighth bombing special service is very happy to present the first uso show in japan the danny k leo derosa show and here's your star of stage screen and radio danny k [Music] [Applause] there anybody here from brooklyn this afternoon [Applause] yes uso camp shows took laughter around the world but right now and for some years to come there's a narrower world where uso has a job to do in 1947. i've seen this world too it's as narrow as a high hospital bed and it imprisons thousands of american wounded a girl playing an accordion can push the walls back a little there are 156 army navy and veterans hospitals in the united states where men like these are waiting for uso camp shows [Music] how they love these shows every girl in this course is greater than pablo ever was to boys who watched them from stretchers wheelchairs beds and crutches all americans must speak out to these boys saying as these uso girls say with their dance and by simply being there you are not forgotten the uso will continue in 1947 not only for these men still in hospitals but also for others here in this country and overseas still serving the usa still needing the uso your share though contributed him personally in dollars and checks is transformed by the uso into an unforgettable service i don't say you must give until it hurts in the eye [Music] you