United Service Organizations The United Service Organizations Inc . ( USO Show ) is a nonprofit organization that provides programs , services and live entertainment to United States troops and their families . Since 1941 , it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense ( DOD ) , relying heavily on private contributions and on funds , goods , and services from various corporate and individual donors . Although congressionally chartered , it is not a government agency . The USO operates 160 centers worldwide . During World War II , the USO became the G . I . ' s " home away from home " and began a tradition of entertaining the troops that continues today . Involvement in the USO was one of the many ways in which the nation had come together to support the war effort , with nearly 1 . 5 million Americans having volunteered their services in some way . After it was disbanded in 1947 , it was revived in 1950 for the Korean War , after which it also provided peacetime services . During the Vietnam War , USOs were sometimes located in combat zones . The organization became particularly famous for its live performances called " Camp Shows " , through which the entertainment industry helped boost the morale of its servicemen and women . Hollywood in general was eager to show its patriotism , and many famous celebrities joined the ranks of USO entertainers . They entertained in military bases at home and overseas , sometimes placing their own lives in danger , by traveling or performing under hazardous conditions . Today the USO has over 160 locations around the world in 14 countries ( including the U . S . ) and 27 states . In 2009 , USO centers served 7 . 7 million visitors . In 2008 , Sloan Gibson became the 22nd President and CEO . Brigadier General ( Retired ) John I . Pray , Jr . , joined the USO in 2009 as Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Programs . In 2010 , Rear Admiral Frank Thorp IV ( USN , ret . ) joined the organization as the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications . In 2011 , USO centers served 8 million visitors . History . Mission and goals . The USO was founded in 1941 in response to a request from President Franklin D . Roosevelt to provide morale and recreation services to U . S . uniformed military personnel . Roosevelt was elected as its honorary chairman . This request brought together six civilian organizations : the Salvation Army , Young Men ’ s Christian Association ( YMCA ) , Young Women ’ s Christian Association ( YWCA ) , National Catholic Community Service , National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board . They were brought together under one umbrella to support U . S . troops . Roosevelt said he wanted " these private organizations to handle the on - leave recreation of the men in the armed forces . " According to historian Emily Yellin , " The government was to build the buildings and the USO was to raise private funds to carry out its main mission : boosting the morale of the military . " The first national campaign chairman was Thomas Dewey , who raised $ 16 million in the first year . The second chairman was Prescott Bush , a future senator and father to one future president , and the grandfather to another . The USO was incorporated in New York February 4 , with the first facility erected in DeRidder , Louisiana , 1941 . More USO centers and clubs opened around the world as a “ Home Away from Home ” for GIs . The USO club was a place to go for dances and social events , for movies and music , for a quiet place to talk or write a letter home , or for a free cup of coffee and an egg . The USO also brought Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers to perform for the troops . According to movie historian Steven Cohan , " most of all . . . in taking home on the road , it equated the nation with showbiz . USO camp shows were designed in their export to remind soldiers of home . " They did this , he noted , by " nurturing in troops a sense of patriotic identification with America through popular entertainment . " An article in " Look " magazine at the time , stated , " For the little time the show lasts , the men are taken straight to the familiar Main Street that is the goal of every fighting American far away from home . " Maxene Andrews wrote , " The entertainment brought home to the boys . " Their " home . " Actor George Raft stated at the beginning of the war , " Now it ' s going to be up to us to send to the men here and abroad real , living entertainment , the songs , the dances , and the laughs they had back home . " USO promotional literature stated its goals : World War II . After being formed in 1941 in response to World War II , " centers were established quickly . . . in churches , barns , railroad cars , museums , castles , beach clubs , and log cabins . " Most centers offered recreational activities , such as holding dances and showing movies . And there were the well - known free coffee and doughnuts . Some USO bases provided a haven for spending a quiet moment alone or writing a letter home , while others offered spiritual guidance and made childcare available for military wives . But the organization became mostly known for its live performances called " Camp Shows " , through which the entertainment industry helped boost the morale of its servicemen and women . Camp Shows began in October 1941 , and by that fall and winter 186 military theaters existed in the United States . Overseas shows began in November 1941 with a tour of the Caribbean . Within five months 36 overseas units had been sent within the Americas , the United Kingdom , and Australia , and during 1942 1 , 000 performed as part of 70 units . Average performers were paid $ 100 a week ; top stars were paid $ 10 a day because their wealth let them contribute more of their talents . These overseas shows were produced by the American Theatre Wing , which also provided food and entertainment for the armed services in their Stage Door Canteens . Funds from the sale of film rights for a story about the New York Canteen went toward providing USO tours of shows for overseas troops . In 1991 , 20th Century Fox produced the film , " For the Boys " , which told the story of two USO performers , and starred Bette Midler and James Caan . It covered a 50 - year timespan , from the USO ' s inception in 1941 through Operation Desert Storm , in 1991 . Another movie was planned in 1950 but never made . Just 10 days after Al Jolson returned from entertaining troops in Korea , he agreed with RKO producers to star in a new movie , " Stars and Stripes for Ever , " about a U . S . O . troupe in the South Pacific during World War II . Unfortunately , he died a week later as a result of physical exhaustion from his tour . Camp Shows began in Normandy in July 1944 , one month after Operation Overlord . Until fall 1944 overseas units contained five performers or fewer ; " The Barretts of Wimpole Street " , using local theaters in France and Italy , was the first to use an entire theater company , including scenery . At its high point in 1944 , the USO had more than 3 , 000 clubs , and curtains were rising on USO shows 700 times a day . From 1941 to 1947 , the USO presented more than 400 , 000 performances , featuring entertainers such as Bing Crosby , Judy Garland , Bette Davis , Humphrey Bogart , Lauren Bacall , Frank Sinatra , Marlene Dietrich , Hattie McDaniel , Eubie Blake , Ann Sheridan , Laurel and Hardy , The Marx Brothers , Carole Landis , Martha Tilton , Jack Benny , Larry Adler , Ossy Renardy , Zero Mostel , James Cagney , James Stewart , Gary Cooper , Doraine and Ellis , Lena Horne , Danny Kaye , The Rockettes , Al Jolson , Fred Astaire , Curly Joe DeRita , The Andrews Sisters , Joe E . Brown , Joe E . Lewis , Ray Bolger , Lucille Ball , Glenn Miller , Martha Raye , Mickey Rooney , Betty Hutton , Dinah Shore , and most famously , Bob Hope . The USO ' s fundraising efforts were not without controversy . An MGM film , " Mr . Gardenia Jones " , created to assist the USO in its fundraising campaign , was nearly withdrawn from theaters due to objections by the War Department . The objections were centered on scenes showing soldiers jumping with joy at the opportunity to shower in canteens and rest in overstuffed and comfortable USO chairs . The Army , noted the " New York Times " , " feels this is not good for morale as it implies that there are no showers or other comforts for soldiers in military camps . " The film starred Ronald Reagan , who was then a captain in the Army . Fundraising was also aided by non - USO entertainment groups . Soldier Shows , which troops — often experienced actors and musicians — organized and held their own performances , were common . The army formed a Special Services unit that organized such shows and supervised the USO , and the experience from the Soldier Shows led to Irving Berlin ' s Broadway show " This Is the Army " . Performers and writers from throughout the army were recruited for the production ; they remained soldiers and continued drills . Berlin , who had written and produced the similar " Yip , Yip , Yaphank " during World War I , took the entire 165 - person cast on tour in Europe in 1942 , raising nearly $ 10 million for the Army Emergency Relief Fund . The following year the show was made into a film by the same title , again starring Ronald Reagan . One of the highlights of the film was its introduction of Berlin ' s song , " God Bless America , " considered one of the nation ' s most patriotic songs . The " This Is The Army " stage production toured worldwide until it closed in October 1945 in Honolulu . War correspondent Quentin Reynolds , in an article for " Billboard magazine " in 1943 , wrote , " Entertainment , all phases of it - - radio , pictures and live - - should be treated as essential . You don ' t know what entertainment means to the guys who do the fighting until you ' ve been up there with the men yourself . . . . You can quote me as saying that we should use entertainment as an essential industry so long as it ' s for the boys in service . Anybody who has been there would insist on it . . . . Hell , you should have seen how happy the G . I . ' s were when they heard the ballplayers were coming over . And John Steinbeck , just back from a chore as war correspondent , . . . also applauded show business as part of the war effort and its importance as a morale builder . " According to historian Paul Holsinger , between 1941 and 1945 , the USO did 293 , 738 performances in 208 , 178 separate visits . Estimates were that more than 161 million servicemen and women , in the U . S . and abroad , were entertained . The USO also did shows in military hospitals , eventually entertaining more than 3 million wounded soldiers and sailors in 192 different hospitals . There were 702 different USO troupes that toured the world , some spending up to six months per tour . In 1943 , a United States Liberty ship named the SS " U . S . O . was launched . She was scrapped in 1967 . Twenty - eight performers died in the course of their tours , from plane crashes , illness , or diseases contracted while on tour . In one such instance in 1943 , a plane carrying a U . S . O . troupe crashed outside Lisbon , killing singer and actress Tamara Drasin , and severely injuring Broadway singer Jane Froman . Froman returned to Europe on crutches in 1945 to again entertain the troops . She later married the co - pilot who saved her life in that crash , and her story was made into the 1952 film " With a Song in My Heart " , with Froman providing the actual singing voice . Others , such as Al Jolson , the first entertainer to go overseas in World War II , contracted malaria , resulting in the loss of his lung , cutting short his tour . One author wrote that by the end of the war " the USO amounted to the biggest enterprise American show business has ever tackled . The audience was millions of American fighting men , the theatre ' s location : the world , the producer : USO camp shows " Performances continued after the end of the war in 1945 . 60 new units went to Europe after V - E Day , and 91 new units went to the Pacific after V - J Day . The USO dissolved in December 1947 , after having spent $ 240 million in contributions on Camp Shows , canteens , and other services . Special Services productions grew in number as replacement . Women in the USO . According to Emily Yellin , many of the key foot soldiers in the USO ' s mission were women who were " charged with providing friendly diversion for U . S . troops who were mostly men in their teens and twenties . " USO centers throughout the world recruited female volunteers to serve doughnuts , dance , and just talk with the troops . USO historian Julia Carson writes that this " nostalgic hour , " designed to cheer and comfort soldiers , involved " listening to music - American style " and " looking at pretty girls , like no other pretty girls in the world - American girls . " African American women scrambled to rally the community around the soldiers and create programs for them . By 1946 , hostesses had served more than two thousand soldiers a day while also providing facilities for the wounded and convalescent who were on leave . They went to black businesses and fraternal organizations in order to find sponsorship for their USO group , and later expanded to fulfill the needs of soldiers during the Korean War . Moreover , they worked to merge black and white USOs into one desegregated unit . As black historian Megan Shockley noted , " Their work for the desegregation of USOs had begun during World War II , and it finally paid off . " Women were also key entertainers who performed at shows . Stars such as Marlene Dietrich , Judy Garland , Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth had traveled over a million miles . Yellin notes that on one tour , Hayworth visited six camps , gave thousands of autographs , and " came back from Texas with a full - fledged nervous breakdown from over - enthusiasm ! " Opera singer Lily Pons , after she had performed a " serious " opera song to troops in Burma , " an applause erupted that stunned even the most seasoned performers . " She later wrote in a letter , " Every woman back home wears a halo now , and those who represent her had better keep theirs on , too . " Author Joeie Dee pointed out that " for women entertainers , traveling with the USO made it possible to be patriots and adventurers as well as professionals . " She adds , however , that the G . I . s in the USO audiences " tended to see these women in a different light - as reminders of and even substitutes for their girls back home , as a reward for fighting the war , as embodiments of what they were fighting for . " Edward Skvarna remembers 1943 , when he met Donna Reed at a U . S . O . canteen and asked her to dance . " I had never danced with a celebrity before , so I felt delighted , privileged even , to meet her . . . . But I really felt she was like a girl from back home . " Jay Fultz , author of her biography , states that soldiers " often wrote to her as if to a sister or the girl next door , confiding moments of homesickness , loneliness , privation and anxiety . " Women entertainers . One female entertainer wrote about conditions while performing : Singer and dancer Ann Miller described performing for badly wounded soldiers . She did forty - eight shows for " broken soldiers , " who were mostly lying on stretchers in the lobbies of hotels , watching as she entertained them . Yellin writes , " During her last show she collapsed and had to be taken home on an Army airplane . " Afterwards , Miller described the experience : Korean War . In the 1940s the USO was disbanded due partly to lack of funds . However , in 1950 , when the United States 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 " According to war historian Paul Edwards , Between 1952 and 1953 , not a day went by without the USO providing services somewhere in Korea . At home or overseas , in 1952 it 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 , Debbie Reynolds , Donald O ' Connor , Piper Laurie , Jane Russell , Paul Douglas , Terry Moore , Marilyn Monroe , Danny Kaye , Rory Calhoun , Mickey Rooney , Jayne Mansfield , Al Jolson and many others . Jolson notably was the first to volunteer and traveled to Korea at his own expense ( he was also the first to entertain troops during World War II . ) . Hispanic - American soldiers were entertained by artists such as Pérez Prado ' s Show featuring Evita Muñoz as his invited mambo dancer . Veterans have recalled many of the USOs events , sometimes in vivid detail : Author Linda Granfield in describing the show , writes , " For two hours , the men could forget they were soldiers at war . After the show , they returned to the fighting in the hills . Some in that audience never made it back . " By the end of the war , over 113 , 000 American USO volunteers were working at 294 centers at home and abroad . " And 126 units had given 5 , 422 performances to servicemen in Korea and the wounded in Japan Vietnam War . The USO was in Vietnam before the first combat troops arrived , with the first USO club opened in Saigon in April 1963 . The 23 centers in Vietnam and Thailand served as many as a million service members a month , and the USO presented more than 5 , 000 performances during the Vietnam War featuring stars such as John Wayne , Ann - Margret , Sammy Davis Jr . , Phyllis Diller , Martha Raye , Joey Heatherton , Wayne Newton , Jayne Mansfield , Redd Foxx , Rosey Grier , Anita Bryant , Nancy Sinatra , Jimmy Boyd , Lola Falana , and Bob Hope . Philip Ahn , the first actor of Korean descent to become a Hollywood star , became the first Asian American USO performer to entertain troops in Vietnam . In addition , the USO operated centers at major U . S . airports to provide a lounge and place to sleep for American servicemen between their flights . Vietnam historian James Westheider noted that the USO " tried to bring a little America to Vietnam . " Volunteer American civilians , who did 18 - month tours , staffed the clubs . According to Westheider , " The young women wore miniskirts - no slacks were allowed . " Each club had a snack bar , gift shops , a barbershop , photo developing , overseas phone lines , and hot showers . When providing entertainment , the USO did its best to attract known stars from back home to help relieve the stresses of war . Senator John Kerry recalled how important this kind of diversion would become . He remembered a " Bob Hope Follies " USO show , which included actress Ann - Margret , Miss America , football star Rosey Grier , and others . According to Kerry biographer Douglas Brinkley , " When the Swift finally made it back to the My Tho River , the crew confronted the heartbreaking sight of a huge Navy landing craft ferrying the troops back . The USO show was over . " Kerry later wrote , " The visions of Ann Margret and Miss America and all the other titillating personalities who would have made us feel so at home hung around us for a while until we saw three Chinook helicopters take off from the field and presumed that our dreams had gone with them . " But for GIs who saw the show , it was worth it : " We turned to watch Ann perform , and for about two minutes of American beauty , the war was forgotten . Everyone fully understood just what was really worth fighting for . . . . The show was fantastic , but the escape the Bob Hope tour provided us in expectation for days before , and after , helped us keep in touch with what we were there for - - God , Country , apple pie . . . and Ann - Margret ! " The visits by the stars meant a lot to the men and women in Vietnam . " It was not just the entertainment ; it meant that they were not forgotten that far away from home , " writes Westheider . He adds that the tours made a " deep impression " on the stars as well . Singer and actress Connie Stevens remembered her 1969 tour with Bob Hope , when she decided to go despite the fact she had two children both under the age of two . Today , she claims that " veterans were still stopping her and thanking her for visiting Vietnam over 30 years later . " Similarly , Ann Margret during a book signing was approached by a veteran who asked her to sign a photo he took of her performing in Vietnam . Although the book ' s publishing representative for the signing event would not allow her to sign anything other than her book , the veteran ' s wife recalls : In November – December 1968 the Sig Sakowitz troop from Chicago performed over 36 shows in South Vietnam with the USO in : Pleiku , Dalat , Danang , Cam Ran Bay , Phu Bai , Phu Loy , Hue , Natrang , Tan Son Nhut Airbase , Saigon and places in the boonies known only to military intelligence and the lonely soldiers yearning for a taste of home . The troop consisted of Doublemint Twins Terrie and Jennie Frankel , Gaslight Club singer Sara Sue , Comedian Tony Diamond and personality Sig Sakowitz . Shows were also performed with comedian Joey Bishop of the Rat Pack . Gulf War . To support troops participating in Operation Desert Shield , USO centers opened in Saudi Arabia . Entertainers performing for the troops included Jay Leno , Steve Martin , Delta Burke , Ann Jillian , Gerald McRaney , Marie Osmond , the Pointer Sisters , country singer Gina James , and Bob Hope on his final USO tour . Afghanistan and Iraq . To support troops participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom , USO centers opened in Afghanistan , Iraq , Kuwait and Qatar . USO centers number more than 160 around the world . Recently , the USO opened centers at Fort Campbell , Ky . , Fort Riley , Kan . , Fort Bliss , Texas , and Fort Carson , Colo . ; and centers in Afghanistan . The USO provides a variety of programs and services , including orientation programs , family events , free Internet and e - mail access , free drinks and snacks , free phone calls home and recreation services . One of the newer programs , called " USO in a Box , " delivers program materials ranging from DVD players and videos to musical instruments to remote forward operating bases in Afghanistan . U . S . military personnel and their families visit USO centers more than eight million times each year . Bruce Willis visited Baghdad , Camp Kir Kush and Camp Caldwell , Iraq around December 2003 . Mr . Willis visited military bases in Iraq during his visit in Iraq . From June 8 to 11 , 2009 , TV personality Stephen Colbert traveled to Iraq to film his show " The Colbert Report " for four days in a USO sponsored event . Other entertainers who have traveled to the Middle East to perform include Al Franken ( who made six USO tours in Kosovo , Iraq and Afghanistan before being elected a United States Senator from Minnesota ) , Craig Ferguson , Gary Sinise , Zac Brown , Jessica Simpson , Carrie Underwood , Drowning Pool , Toby Keith ( with special guest Gina James ) , Montgomery Gentry , Kellie Pickler , Mayra Veronica , Carlos Mencia , O . A . R . , Dave Attell , Trace Adkins , Kathleen Madigan , Louis C . K . , Dane Cook , Lewis Black , Third Day , Colin Quinn , Kathy Griffin and Neil McCoy . The USO is also providing services for the annual " Tribute to the Troops " special of World Wrestling Entertainment . They have aired WWE RAW from Afghanistan and Iraq every Christmas in the United States in a pre - taped show from the combat zone . On July 16 , 2012 , Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen announced that he would donate at least $ 1 million to the USO . This would be among the largest single donations ever given to the organization . Honoring Bob Hope . In 1997 , the U . S . Congress honored Bob Hope by declaring him the " first and only honorary veteran of the U . S . armed forces . " According to Hope biographer William Faith , his reputation has become ingrained in the " American consciousness " because he had flown millions of miles to entertain G . I . s during both wartime and peace . His contribution to the USO began in 1941 and ended with Operation Desert Shield in 1991 , spending 48 Christmases overseas with American service personnel . He was always treated as " an asset to the U . S . Government with his willingness to entertain whenever they needed him . " After WWII was declared over , the USO had sent out an " impassioned bulletin " asking entertainers not to abandon the GIs now that the war was over . Hope was among the first to say yes . The Military Order of the Purple Heart notes that " his contributions to the USO are well known : they are legend . " As a result of his non - stop entertainment to both the civilian population and the military , he received numerous other honors over the years : a C - 17 Air Force plane was named " The Spirit of Bob Hope " ; a naval vessel was named the " USNS Bob Hope " ; and streets , schools , hospitals , and a golf tournament were also named in his honor . A Senate resolution declared him " a part of American folklore . " The " Guinness Book of Records " called him the most honored entertainer ever . And during his 1993 televised birthday celebration , when he turned 90 , General Colin Powell saluted Hope " for his tireless USO trouping " , which was followed by onstage tributes from all branches of the armed forces . General William Westmoreland spoke about his loyalty to the GI throughout the gritty Vietnam years . And bandleader Les Brown , who was with him during many of his tours , mentioned that his band " had seen more of Hope ' s ass in the last forty years than any of Hope ' s immediate family . " War correspondent Quentin Reynolds wrote in 1943 , " He and his troupe would do 300 miles in a jeep , and give four shows . . . One of the generals said Hope was a first rate military target since he was worth a division ; that that ' s about 15 , 000 men . Presumably the Nazis appreciated Hope ' s value , since they thrice bombed towns while the comic was there . " During the Vietnam War years he gave a number of high - rating television specials and sensed that the media had given him a broad endorsement for continuing on his GI mercy missions . Soon after his Christmas show in Saigon in 1967 , he learned that the Vietcong had planned a terrorist attack at his hotel against him and his entire troupe , missing him by ten minutes . He was later " mystified , " writes Faith , " and . . . increasingly intolerant of the pockets of dissent . Draft - card burning s on college campuses angered him . . . " " Can you imagine , " Hope wrote in a magazine article , " . . . that people in America are burning their draft cards to show their opposition and that some of them are actually rooting for your defeat ? " In the spring of 1973 , Hope began writing his fifth book , " The Last Christmas Show " , which was dedicated to " the men and women of the armed forces and to those who also served by worrying and waiting . " He signed over his royalties to the USO . His final Christmas show was during Operation Desert Shield in 1990 . The show was not easy , notes Faith . " There were so many restrictions . Hope ' s jokes were monitored by the State Department to avoid offending the Saudis . . . and the media was restricted from covering the shows . . . Because in Saudi Arabia national custom prescribes that women must be veiled in public , Ann Jillian , Marie Osmond , and the Pointer Sisters were left off Hope ' s Christmas Eve show . " In 2009 , Stephen Colbert performing his last episode of weeklong taping in Iraq for his The Colbert Report show , carried a golf club on stage and dedicated it to Bob Hope ' s service for the USO . Financials . The USO has a paid staff of approximately 300 . Additionally , more than 44 , 000 USO volunteers provide an estimated 371 , 417 hours of service annually . As reported by the USO , the unpaid volunteer to paid employee ratio overseas is 20 to 1 . Within the United States , the number is " significantly higher " . The following information is based on USO ' s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31 , 2011 :