Celebrity Entertainers Boost Morale |
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"For an hour tonight, our soldiers were back home watching a comedy troupe perform a thousand miles from danger. I want you to know that I appreciate what those actors did tonight. I fully expect to point them out to my family at home while watching a television show, or a movie, as having been a part of the group who performed for Daddy while he was in Iraq."
– An Army Company Commander
Historically, few events have left a more lasting emotional impression on service members and their families than USO celebrity entertainment tours. Since the USO's inception in 1941, thousands of celebrities have boosted the morale of troops in times of peace and war.
Celebrities give selflessly of their time and talents, traveling to foreign countries and to installations in the United States. They are there to shake hands, sign autographs, teach clinics, and help service members and their families feel a little closer to home. Entertainers come from many different backgrounds with a variety of talents. They visit the most remote military installations and receive no talent fees. Performances often take place in unique locations, such as airplane hangers, flatbed trucks, military tents and bunkers.
USO entertainers are essential to fulfilling the USO's mission of boosting troop morale. The USO's long-standing tradition of sending entertainers overseas will carry on as long as service members are stationed far from home.