As the clouds of WWII gathered, many in the War Department recognized that there would be a huge challenge in keeping up the spirits of American boys who would be stationed far from home. One early effort was the cutting of “Buddy Disks”, phonograph records which would be given to each unit’s special services division. A more efficient way to bring entertainment to more troops came in the form of the Armed Forces Radio Services, AFRS.

Radio stations were set up in every theater of the War, which not only allowed commanders to communicate with all of their troops, it brought the boys a taste of home which civilians were not able to hear at home.

The entertainment industry became one of the biggest supporters of AFRS. Not only did technicians and talent who were drafted or volunteered find themselves assigned to AFRS, major stars freely gave their time to record programs which would be sent to the overseas stations. Programs like GI Journal, Command Performance, and Jubilee were only heard over AFRS, even though they featured A-List talent. Many regular commercial broadcasts were recorded and edited (to remove any commercial reference) for the troops.