|
Posted on 04/15/2003 5:35:08 AM PDT by SAMWolf
|
|
 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
|
| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. We hope to provide an ongoing source of information about issues and problems that are specific to Veterans and resources that are available to Veterans and their families. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support.
|
|
|
|
Once Upon a Time, Tinseltown Marched Lockstep into Battle When Michael Moore delivered his now infamous anti-war, anti-Bush proclamation from the Oscars podium, it was difficult to discern the cheers from the jeers. Hollywood, like much of the nation, is divided over the war in Iraq.  Clark Gable on far right The Second World War, perhaps more than at any other time in the country's history, found Americans in perfect agreement about a war: This was a black-and-white battle between good and evil. For those who weren't sure that Hitler and his Axis minions were a problem for this country, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor convinced them. The fight was on. And like the rest of the country, Hollywood pitched in. Stars and the rest of the Hollywood community raised money or joined the service or entertained the troops. Though known as a place of big egos and massive self-involvement, the whole of the Industry seemed to be focused on one goal: Help beat the Nazis and their Fascist buddies by doing whatever you could. And as you'll see, Hollywood could do plenty.  French officer presents Col. Jimmy Stewart with the Corps de Guerre with palm for valor in battle. Still, real life isn't like a movie. Like millions across the theaters of war, some lost their lives. Others fought against the countries of their birth. Some even found themselves ostracized for holding unpopular beliefs. It was a different time, indeed.  Gov. Dwight Griswold presents Abbott and Costello with an ear of corn as a memento of their trip to Nebraska to help sell war bonds. In one of the first acts of support, the likes of Mickey Rooney, James Cagney, Harpo Marx, Fred Astaire and Judy Garland crisscrossed the nation selling war bonds, raising millions of dollars for the war effort. It was during one such drive that the beautiful screwball comedian Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable, died in a plane crash. Lombard, who had just raised $2.5 million for the cause, had also starred in an anti-Nazi film, the hilarious To Be or Not to Be, with Jack Benny. When she died, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt eulogized her, saying, "She gave unselfishly of time and talent to serve her government in peace and war."  During the First World War, Charlie Chaplin, at the height of his fame as the Little Tramp, helped raise millions selling war bonds to support U.S. and British troops. But perhaps his more lasting wartime achievement--or at least best remembered one--is a film that spoofed the rise of Adolf Hitler (who was rumored to have patterned his own Tramp-like mustache after Chaplin). In The Great Dictator, released in 1940, Chaplin returns the favor, ranting and raving as psychotic leader Adenoid Hynkel, as well as playing another role as a gentle Jewish barber who gets mistaken for the crazed tyrant. The film was not a huge success, and Chaplin later said had he known the magnitude of Hitler's crimes he wouldn't have joked about them. In another time, perhaps Pamela Anderson might have gotten this honor. But during World War II, the inflatable yellow life vests used by American and British pilots were nicknamed Mae Wests, in honor of the chesty comedienne. The vest, which used inflation hoses, straps and cylinders of CO2 to puff up into flotation devices, saved many pilots who had to bail out over water.  What better way to console homesick GIs than with pictures of pretty women? (Okay, there are other ways, but we aren't going to talk about those...) Betty Grable probably wasn't the biggest star in Hollywood, but she was easily the most popular pinup girl of WWII. Her rearview swimsuit shot, in which she smiled invitingly over her shoulder for the benefit of the fighting men, was tacked up on barracks walls in war zones all over the world. Beauties like Rita Hayworth and Alice Faye could only come in a distant second in the battle to make GI hearts thump the loudest.  Glenn Miller The entertainment community has sometimes found novel ways to support the current military effort. Two of the most popular musicians of the World War II era--big band leaders Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw--joined the service and led bands, while many other artists recorded V-Discs, recordings made especially for the troops. So in demand were they that Miller's band played 800 performances in a single year. He died in 1944, when his plane went down over the English Channel. No trace of the plane or Miller was ever found.  Audie Murphy An underage, undersize, baby-faced farm boy with only five years of schooling, Audie Murphy became the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, winning every citation for bravery the U.S. had to offer, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. Spending more than a year on the front lines in Europe, Murphy was credited with killing more than 240 German soldiers and capturing many others. His appearance in Life magazine attracted the attention of James Cagney, who brought the soldier out to Hollywood. Murphy starred in a series of B westerns and The Red Badge of Courage (where it was claimed he had trouble playing his character's moments of cowardice) and played himself in the autobiographical film To Hell and Back. A humble man who suffered from a gambling problem and post-traumatic stress disorder in the years after the war, Murphy died in a plane crash in 1971.
|
"Hello, wondered if you could help me. I'm working for a community centre in London UK which was used as a GI r&r place during WW2. The address is 64 Crouch Hill, London N8 and it is in North London in the area of Hornsey, you can also access the site from a road called Hornsey Rise. We are threatened with closure and I would be very interested in any memories from veterans who might have been there so I can explain to the local community here the important historical significance of the site. It's such a wonderful site and I'd like to recreate some of the events that went on in the past. I really hope you can help. Thanks. Louise Pratt."
My father had the utmost respect for many of the actors of his generation. I never really understood it, since respect was the last thing I thought of regarding the actors of my youth (60's and 70's). I knew about Jimmy Stewart, and heard stories about the time my father saw Bob Hope in Europe and in Vietnam. He especially appreciated the ladies that accompanied him. Once, back in the States, after Vietnam, during one of Bob's USO specials he made a comment about the ladies that earned him a pillow hard to the face from my Mom.
Noting Bob's trips to Vietnam, have any modern actors rushed in to fill the void with the USO that he left? Sure some went to Bosnia, but who among Hollywood is really a friend of the military today?
Please disregard my freepmail message to you of just a few minutes ago. I DO NOT want to be removed from the ping list!
Band members:
Fred Clarke of Liverpool
P.C. Taylor of Clapham
G. Krins of Brixton
Wallace H. Hartley of Dewsbury (Bandmaster)
Theodore Brailey of Notting Hill
Jock Hume of Dumfries
J.W. Woodward of Headingtn, Oxon
Roger Bricoux
<=== Click
"Nearer My God to Thee", believed to be the final song played by the band
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
