Entertaining the Troops

On View from 3 December 2009 to 14 March 2010
The Joe W. and D.D. Brown Foundation Special Exhibit Gallery

To support the birth of the Solomon Victory Theater, the American Sector restaurant and our very own Stage Door Canteen, Entertaining the Troops will showcase The National World War II Museum’s entertainment-related collection. The exhibit will examine and highlight efforts to sustain the troops before and during their darkest hours.

Rather than focus solely on celebrities who lent their star-power to the cause, Entertaining the Troops celebrates the average citizens-- organizations and individuals who helped servicemen retain a little piece of humanity and a glimpse of home while immersed in their uncertain and dangerous tasks.

In “Entertaining the Troops: At Home” we highlight five costumes worn by a young dancer, Betty Jacobs Schwartzberg from New Orleans, who performed for servicemen at Camp Plauche and at local military hospitals. “Entertaining the Troops: On the Road” showcases a piano from a USO railroad canteen, signed by over 2,500 servicemen as they passed through on troop trains, on loan from the Harvey County Historical Museum in Newton, Kansas.

We are also proud to feature a very unique piece from our collection—a map and patch board from the El Paso Travelers Aid Society onto which 385 unit insignia and patches are sewn. “Entertaining the Troops: In the Field” features the uniforms of two Red Cross “donut girls,” uniforms of USO Camp Show performers, baseball bats and gloves used by servicemen, and “trench art” – items handcrafted by servicemen in the field.

We recall a time when a simple joke or a friendly ear could bring a lonely serviceman back from the brink of despair. Americans banded together to support the men in uniform. They staffed canteens, wrote letters, produced plays, danced, and simply listened—all in the name of Victory.