In 1947, the USO was disbanded, due partly to lack of funds. In 1951, after the United States had entered the Korean War, Secretary of Defense George Marshall and Secretary of the Navy Francis P. Matthews requested that the USO be reactivated “to provide support for the men and women of the armed forces with help of the American people.” Between 1952 and 1953, not a day went by without the USO providing services somewhere in Korea, at home or overseas. In 1952 the USO was serving 3.5 million in the armed forces using much the same methods of operation as it did in World War II.
Many stars, both well-known and new, came to perform, including Bob Hope, Errol Flynn, Terry Moore, Piper Laurie, Jane Russell, Paul Douglas, Terry Moore, Marilyn Monroe, Danny Kaye, Mickey Rooney, Al Jolson and many others. Jolson was the first to volunteer, but due to lack of USO funds traveled to Korea at his own expense ( he was also the first to entertain troops during World War II).
Veterans have recalled many of the USO events, sometimes in vivid details: On that cold, overcast day, there were more than five thousand troops in the audience. They sat on the ground or on a side. When everyone was settled, Danny Kaye opened the show by going to the microphone, looking at his large audience, and shouting “Who’s holding back the enemy?” The GIs roared with laughter. They especially liked the young women in the show. For two hours, the men could forget they were soldiers at war. By the end of the war, over 113,000 American USO volunteers were working at 294 centers at home and abroad. 126 units gave 5,422 performances to servicemen in Korea and the wounded in Japan.
With the Vietnam War the USO was in Vietnam before the first combat troops arrived with the first USO club opening in Saigon in April 1963. The 23 center in Vietnam and Thailand served a million service members a month and presented more than 5,000 performances during the Vietnam War featuring stars such as John Wayne, Ann Margret, Sammy Davis Jr., Phyllis Diller, Jane Mansfield, and Bob Hope.
The USO continues to serve our troops in all the wars and even the peace times especially those serving overseas. We need to really thank them for their great services.