Veteran's Day and Old Time Radio

Today is Veteran's Day. It was originally known as Armistice Day and it was the day when we commemorated the end of World War I, but when it became Veterans Day's the scope was expanded to recognize the huge sacrifices made by those who fought all of our wars and defended our ideals worldwide. Too many have paid the ultimate price, and none should be forgotten.

One of the things about old time radio that I really enjoy is that it provides me with an audio gateway into the past. I can put on an old radio show and travel back in time. I can close my eyes and hear things exactly how someone listening half a century or more ago would have heard them. It's like having my very own audio-only time machine.

Did you know that it in an indirect way we have World War II to thank for many of the old time radio shows that are in existance today. Let me explain why.

It was during the Second World War that the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) a non-commercial network was set up by Roosevelt's government War Department to provide entertainment for the US military audiences overseas.

The programs were originally specially produced by AFRS but soon after a transcription unit was set up that recorded the most popular commercial programs and shipped them to military transmitters to be rebroadcast. Over 60,000 shows were shipped overseas and many of the old-time radio programs that are available today are from those transcriptions.

A surprising number of the AFRS shows were never heard on commercial stations in the United States. A great example of this is Command Performance. Thanks to the Armed Forces overseas there are now 160 episodes available to listen to today and I've put one up today for you to enjoy.

Command Performance was a wartime variety show, broadcast during the years of the 1940's for the US troops "over there" to entertain them with their favorite stars on American radio. The title "Command Performance" derived from the fact that it would be the GI, used to obeying commands, which would command the stars they wanted to hear on the radio.

A surprising fact about this series is that all talent was donated, in other words no one received payment - not even the stars. This was even more remarkable when you see the list of stars that contributed to the entertainment. Stars of the silver screen like Charles Laughton, Red Skelton, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, to name but a few. Anybody who was anybody got in on this act and those guys serving away from home were glad of it.

When the war ended it was decided that it would still be necessary to carry on producing the show and it continued to be broadcast to the serving men and women of the United States Armed Forces right up to the end of 1949.

I hope you enjoy today's show and that whilst you listen you spare a thought not only for the men and woman who have served in the conflicts of the past century, but also to the men and woman who are in our armed forces today.