Important Dates in USO History |
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1942-1960
February 4, 1941: The USO is incorporated under the laws of the State of New York.
October 30, 1941: USO Camp Shows, Inc., is established to provide entertainment to troops around the world.
November 28, 1941: The first government-built USO club opens in Fayetteville, N.C.
January 1942: The USO Overseas Department is established to set up clubs at Western Hemisphere points outside the continental United States.
1942: The first mobile USO units are sent to serve military men on maneuvers and at remote locations.
December 31, 1947: All USO clubs and facilities are closed, and the organization is given an honorable discharge by President Harry S. Truman.
January 1951: The USO is reactivated for the Korean War under a Memorandum of Understanding between the president and the Department of Defense.
1961-1980
1962-63: The Hannah Survey reaffirms the need for a peacetime USO.
September 1963: The USO opens its first club in Saigon, Vietnam; seventeen others are established in Vietnam over the next nine years. This is the first time the USO has had a facility in a combat zone.
December 1964: Bob Hope makes his first Christmas Tour to Vietnam.
June 1972: All USO clubs in Vietnam are closed as American troops withdraw.
December 20, 1979: President Jimmy Carter signs the USO's newly granted congressional charter.
1981-2000
1982: The USO's Women's Resource Center opens in Baumholder, Germany – a prototype for other USOs.
1984: USO centers are opened in Haifa, Israel; and Istanbul, Turkey.
May 30, 1985: The Bob Hope USO Center and World Headquarters opens in Washington, D.C.
1987: The USO signs a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Defense.
1988: A terrorist car bomb explodes outside the USO Fleet Center in Naples, Italy, killing five people and destroying the center.
1991: During the Persian Gulf War, the USO opened centers in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
1991: The USO establishes the Desert Storm Family Support Fund to provide direct financial assistance to military families affected by Desert Storm/Shield.
February 4, 1991: The USO celebrates its fiftieth anniversary.
1993: USO entertainers are sent to Somalia to perform for troops stationed in the area.
1996: The USO establishes centers in Hungary in the Bosnian theatre of operations.
1997: Johnny Grant, a supporter of the USO for more than half a century, visits Bosnia on his 50th USO tour.
2001+
2002: Operation USO Care Package is created by USO of Metropolitan Washington for troops deploying to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
February 4, 2001: The USO celebrates its sixtieth anniversary.
2003: The USO Congressional Caucus is established.
June 2003: Project Salute, the USO's first large-scale entertainment tour to the Persian Gulf region since Operation Iraqi Freedom, departs with a host of entertainers and professional athletes.
2003: The USO opens its first center in Kuwait.
2003: USO Operation Phone home is launched, proving free, international phone cards to service members.
July 29, 2003: Legendary USO entertainer Bob Hope dies.
July 2004: The USO opens a center in Qatar.
December 2005: On their 59th USO tour, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders spend the holidays with troops in Korea. This marks their 26th year visiting troops in Korea during Christmas.
March 2005: The USO opens a center in Afghanistan.
February 4, 2006: The USO celebrates its 65th anniversary.
November 7, 2006: The Operation USO Care Package program assembles it's 1 millionth care package for troops deployed overseas.
February 4, 2007: The USO celebrates its 66th anniversary.
February 22, 2007: The USO receives more than $100 million in media value with it's public service campaign.
February 4, 2008: The USO celebrates its 67th anniversary.
February 8, 2008: The USO opens a new center in Iraq.
October 21, 2008: The USO opens a new center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the first center dedicated to wounded warriors.
December 11, 2008: The Operation USO Care Package program assembles it's 1.5 millionth care package for troops deployed overseas.
February 4, 2009: The USO celebrates its 68th anniversary.