THURSDAY, MAY fe tid
THE FRANtfLIN PRESS AND THE HIGHLANDS MACONilAN
PACK TWO
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Just like you said, Pop, this army
life's makin' a me a out of me. Of
course, not the man you were when you
were skirmishin around with the old
Rainbow Division. In this war we gotta
be tough ! I have to laugh when I think
how you'd look bouncing around in a
jeep for a couple of hours. Or shooting
one of those dandy little anti-tank
rifles off your shoulder !
We're putting together a rip snorter
this trip. They're doing every thin' to
make us just about the best bunch of
fightin' galoots you ever saw.
And that goes for what they do for us
off duty, too ! You should see the new
clubhouse they got for us just outside
of camp. Got radios, dance floors, nice
soft chairs and everything. And you can
get something to eat that won't cost
you a month's pay.
Now the army isn't running this. The
USO's doing it. Most of the camps got
clubs, too, because you and a lot of
other folks dug down and gave the money
to the USO last year.
But , Pop , you know what S happened
since then. You've seen it right at
home. Guys are just streaming into
uniform. Why, last year there was less
than 2 million of us. This year there'll
be 4 million. The USO needs a lot of
money to serve that many men.
That's rhy the USO is. setting out to
raise more of it around 32,000,000
buckB I hear. Now, Pop, I know you upped
with what you could last time. But it
would sure be swell if you could dig
down in the old sock again. Maybe you
could get ome of the other folks around
the neighborhood steamed up.
It will mean an awful lot to the fellows
down here and in every other camp. Sort
of show em the home-folks are right
there backing 'em up. And, Pop, I guess
I don't have to tell an old soldier
like you that's a mighty nice feeling
for a fellow to have. See what you can
do, huh, Pop?
Send your contribution to your local USO Committee or to
USO, Empire State Building, New York City.
f
What Some of Our Boys Say:
May 12, 1942
Dear Mr. Archer:
I appreciate your recen.t letter. I am now at
Drew Field, Fla. Being transferred Saturday my
answer to your letter was delayed.
The I SO Clubs sometimes work is conjunction
with Y. M. C, A. In Joplin, Mo. it is in the
Y. M. C. A. building This club serves coffee and
doughnuts to the soldiers who come in for infor
mation or to read or play games. It holds dances
at frequest intervals, usually once a week, for the
benefit of the soldiers.
O.n such memorable days as Easter and
Mother's Day the local churches of different
denominatio,ns unite .soldiers to church. The
individual soldiers are then invited out to dif
ferent homes for dinner and entertainment for
the rest of the day. The USO club arranges
this by sending a letter to the company. The
names of the ones that accept the invitations
arc taken and sent back to the USO Club. Then
the name of the family of which he is going to
be a guest is mailed to him.
In addition the USO Club provides free swim
ming and different games such as ping pong,
etc. They also keep several cots especially for
soldiers on furlough who are stranded.
And so by entertainment, information
recreation, soldiers are greatly be.'fited.
Sincerely,
Pvt. Wm. P. Bryant
and
Fort Sill, Okla.
May 16, 1942
Dear Mr. Archer :
I am afraid that I am just a little tardy in
answering your letter.
The Clubs are 'always having dances fr the
soldiers, especially every weekend. Girls come
from Lawton anil many of the other towns in
the vicinity. Many 'rther thing, are always going
on at one or more of the clubs which is of in
terest to most of us.
I know of nothing that is of more benefit to
a soldier than a USO Club. Wherever you may
be yon are always welcome and the hostesses
do try to see that everyone has a nice time. I
feel quite sure that if anyone in Franklin or
any other place will just picture a sollier far
away from home they can easily visualize what
a good thing they have already done for us in
contributing to the USO. Without them we
would have no place at all to ga that we could
call our own. ''.
Sincerely,
Philip Blumenthal
o
384th Sch. Sq., Albuquerque, N. M.
Dear Mr. Archer:
As requested in your letter of the 7th, I am
writing this letter in the hopes it will cover
your desire.
The USO Clubs are comparatively new clubs,
and just now getting under way.
In Shreveport, La., I want to the USO Club
quite often and always found many other serv
ice men there writing letters, playing table ten
nis, checkers, and many other various kinds of
amusement.
Here in Albuquerque, N. M., there is a very
nice looking club building that is brand new.
It has a nice dance floor, a shower room, a soft
drink bar, anl two bowling alleys. Here dances
are given twice a week, and the club is open at
all times to the boys. The USO Clubs I have
come in. contact with are looked forward to by
most all the boys that are away from home for
amusement.
In my opinion all this tends greatly to boost
the morale and serves their purpose to the
utmost.
Best regards,
Sgt. Ledger B. Shope
that this service may be rendered.
From personal experience I find that the many
activities which USO arranges for the enjoy
ment of service men may be summed up in
one sentence USO brings home life to the
boys!
Here at Norfolk the USO arranges for dances,
parties, picture shows, roller skating and many
other clean and wholesome entertainments free
of charge to all service men. The various club
houses furnish sleeping quarters at a very low
cost and a place to meet family and friends.
It is easy to explain why your quota is four
times greater this year than last. Each time I
have attended a USO program the crowd has
been much larger than could be accommodated,
and with an expanded military program the need
for USO will be ever increasing.
If you want to do something for a friend or
relative in the service make a contribution to
the local USO and your gift will be multiplied
many times by the enjoyment of his visits to
USO.
Best regards to all.
Sincerely,
John Ansel
Norfolk, Va.
May 5, 1942
Hear Mr. Archer:
Thank you for your letter of the 5th. It gives
me an opportunity to express for my shipmates
and myself an appreciation for the wonderful
work being carried on by the USO Clubs, and!
particularly the Macon Chapter for it is onl l
through the loyal support of our home chapters
Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo.
Dear Mr. Archer:
I am proud of this opportunity to express my
appreciation for what the USO Clubs have done
for me and fellow soldiers.
Before writing this I consulted most of the
other members of my platoon and their opinion
is the same as mine. In our opinion, no other
organization has done as much toward making
an army camp into a home for the soldier as
the USO Chibs. They provide good entertain
ment, recreation facilities, serve wholesome food
at reasonable prices, and furnish buildings where
relatives and friends can visit us during off-duty
hours.
We all join in saying thanks a million to
every one who has contributed to the USO
Clubs everywhere.
Yours truly,
Pvt. Gardner Holden
Luke Field, Phoenix, Ariz.
Dear Mr. Archer :
Those in the armed forces from Macon County
will be glad to know the people back home are
helping the USO carry out its program. For, of
course, it is necessary that more funds than ever
before be available to provide facilities for an
increasing number of men.
Communities near Army camps are often so
flooded with soldiers that existing facilities for
entertainment are entirely inadequate. USO helps
this situation by providing recreational centers
for those in the armed forces, and by furnishing
a central agency for civilian endeavors to make
a soldier's stay in a community more enjoyable.
The crowds of soldiers seen at USO centers
indicates that the facilities are used and appre
ciated by the men. That those services are bene
ficial to the furtherance of the nation's war ef
fort by helping make a soldier's life more whole
some is a well established fact.
Sincerely,
WHliam S. Johnson
SIVE TO THE i
USO
Fort Custer, Mich.
May 9, 1942
Dear Mr. Archer:
In reply to your letter of May 6, in which
you asked me for an expression in regard to
my experience with various USO Clubs that I
had come in contact with, I can say :
Since I have been is the United States Army
I have visited USO Clubs in several different
places and each time I visit a USO Club I
always find an excellent example of respect and
courtesy, that is designated to the members of
the armed forces of the United States.
I think that there is no other work that can
fit in better for its purpose than raising funds
for the support of the USO Clubs, and I am
sure that this work will receive the highest ap
preciation from all members of the Military Ser
vice. May I encourage the success of this drive to
raise funds for the support and for the progress
of the USO Clubs.
Yours Truly, 1
Gus G. Baldwin
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