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Thread: Say prayer of hope for troops, the stars won't!

  1. #1
    bigq
    Sad but true...
    I love the line with Ted....
    During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys.
    Just as the seemingly intractable nature of the war has led to a growing recruitment crisis, so the United Services Organisation, which has been putting on shows for the troops since the second world war, is struggling to get celebrities to sign up for even a short tour of duty.
    It is a far cry from the days following the September 11 2001 attacks, when some of the biggest names in show business, from Jennifer Lopez to Brad Pitt, rallied to the cause. "After 9/11 we couldn't have had enough airplanes for the people who were volunteering to go," Wayne Newton, the Las Vegas crooner who succeeded Bob Hope as head of USO's talent recruiting effort, told USA Today. "Now with 9/11 being as far removed as it is, the war being up one day and down the next, it becomes increasingly difficult to get people to go."
    Newton said many celebrities have been wary of going because they think it might be seen that they are endorsing the war. "And I say it's not. I tell them these men and women are over there because our country sent them, and we have the absolute necessity to try to bring them as much happiness as we can."
    Fear is also a factor. "They're scared," country singer Craig Morton, who is in Iraq on the USO's Hope and Freedom Tour 2005, told USA Today. "It's understandable. It's not a safe and fun place and a lot of people don't want to take the chance."
    The USO was founded in 1941 as a way of boosting morale for the military. For most of that time Bob Hope, who made his first appearance in 1942 and his last in 1990, was its most recognisable face, famed for putting on Christmas extravaganzas on aircraft carriers and American bases during the Vietnam war. Thousands of performers signed up to play the "foxhole circuit" during the second world war, but the USO has a much smaller list.
    Some of the entertainers still willing to travel are die-hard true believers - rock musician Ted Nugent carried a Glock handgun to shows in Iraq last year and said in a radio interview that he manned a machine gun on a Humvee. But many of the USO's regular performers are fierce critics of the war, among them the comic and star of Good Morning Vietnam, Robin Williams, who told USA Today he would like to return to the Middle East in the spring for what would be his fourth tour since 2002. "I'm there for the [troops], not for W," he said in a reference to the president. "Go, man. You won't forget it. You'll meet amazing people," is his message to stars that ask him about the tours. But the comedian said he mostly tries to keep politics out of the show after he did a few jokes about Bush's brainpower at a base in 2003 and got a chilly reception.
    Other critics of the war who regularly perform include the leftwing comedian Al Franken (who is headlining the current tour along with Christian hip-hop group Souljahz) and the punk legend and actor Henry Rollins, one of the Bush administrations most vocal critics.
    The tradition of beautiful women thrilling the troops has continued - although while Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell showed up in Korea and Vietnam could boast Raquel Welch, in Iraq they have had to make do with sometime pop singer and reality TV star Jessica Simpson.

  2. #2
    Jeanyus
    Merry Christmas, and for this group how abot a ba humbug.
    "Compare the Brave Entertainers of 1943 with today's Hollywood motley bunch.
    The Entertainers of 2003 have been in all of the news media lately. it seems News Paper, Television and Radio has been more than ready to put them and their message before the public.
    I would like to remind the people of what the entertainers of 1943 were doing, (60 years ago). Most of these brave men have since passed on.
    Alec Guinness (Star Wars) operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.
    James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U.S. Army on D-Day.
    Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was a R.A.F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.
    David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.
    James Stewart flew 20 missions as a B-24 pilot in Europe.
    Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) was a waist gunner flying mis! sions on a B-17 in Europe.
    Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.
    Earnest Borgnine was a U.S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.
    Charles Durning was a U.S. Army Ranger at Normandy.
    Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps.
    George C. Scott was a U.S. Marine.
    Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U.S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov.1943.
    Brian Keith served as a Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific.
    Lee Marvin was a Marine on Saipan when he was wounded.
    John Russell was a Marine on Guadalcanal.
    Robert Ryan was a U.S. Marine who served with the O.S.S. in Yugoslavia.
    Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of Iwo Jima ! and Okinawa.
    Audie Murphy , little guy from Texas, Most Decorated serviceman of WWII.
    I wish I had room to tell you more about Actor Sterling Hayden and an actor by the name of Peter J. Ortiz (Twelve O'clock High, Rio Grande and The Wings of Eagles), but this would turn into a book.
    There is quite a huge gap between the heroics and patriotism in 1943 and the cowardly despicable posturing of the Hollywood crowd of today... all of which smack of sedition and treason. God Bless America.

  3. #3
    Schiada76
    Do what I do.
    Go to Operation Military Pride .com and tell them you need the name and contact info for a serviceman to write to or send a care package to.
    They really really appreciate it.
    I have another package going out on Tuesday. They'll tell you what to send.
    Merry Christmas!

  4. #4
    Steve 1
    God bless America and Our brave military!!!
    http://www.uploadyourimages.com/img/...istmas05md.jpg

  5. #5
    Jeanyus
    Do what I do.
    Go to Operation Military Pride .com and tell them you need the name and contact info for a serviceman to write to or send a care package to.
    They really really appreciate it.
    I have another package going out on Tuesday. They'll tell you what to send.
    Merry Christmas!
    Good advice. I have been doing the same thing for over 2 years. I have been using the any soldier site. Hearing from home, and that people care about them, does a lot for a soldiers morale.
    http://www.anysoldier.us/WhereToSend/

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