Veterans Serving Veterans in Marietta, Georgia Since 1919
I would like to remind all our Members, the February General Membership Meeting will be on Thursday, February 2nd at 7 PM.
Please note the SAL will be serving dinner at 6 PM. Cost is $10.
Meeting will start at 7pm in our upstairs Meeting Hall. Hope you all will join us for this Meeting!
The Auxiliary will also be holding their General Membership meeting that evening as well at 7:30 PM
February 4 is the official birthday of the organization known as United Service Organizations or USO. The USO has been a fixture in military life for more than seven decades. Founded in 1941, the agency is a private, not-for-profit organization working in cooperation with the Department of Defense.
The next USO birthday will be on Saturday, February 4, 2023.
The USO has a congressional charter and receives funding through donations, philanthropy, and corporate support. More than 12 thousand volunteers work with the USO at locations worldwide including military bases, airports, and major metro areas.
The USO, compared to similar non-profit organizations, has a unique and complex history. It actually has roots in six separate organizations including the Salvation Army, the YMCA and YWCA, Catholic Community Services, National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board.
These six agencies combined resources to begin the USO, and troops fighting in World War Two were the first to benefit from the existence of the organization.
A Brief History Of The USO: World War Two And Beyond
When the USO was formed, organizers wanted program events and services with an eye on boosting troop morale while promoting American involvement in World War Two. As these plans unfolded, the idea of a traveling USO show performing at forward deployed locations would not only prove successful, but would at times be the main activity some associated with the agency.
These traveling shows were held in China, Russia, Burma, and elsewhere during the war; the same kind of USO shows were offered to troops in later conflicts including Vietnam and Korea.
About seven thousand performers took part in the early USO traveling shows and featured some of America’s greatest star power at the time; the late comedian Bob Hope would eventually become synonymous with the USO to some thanks to his continued efforts with the agency; his legacy stretches all the way to the first Gulf War where Hope did his final USO tour.
The USO Shuts Down After World War Two
History is full of lessons about the nature of impermanence; after Axis powers surrendered at the end of World War Two, some felt the USO mission had been fulfilled and it had finished the job it set out to do. In the wake of the surrender of both Germany and Japan, the USO was disbanded.
But in 1949, America was seeing the beginnings of what would come to be known as the Cold War; the six founding organizations responsible for creating the USO got together once more to revive the agency and begin serving U.S. troops. But funding issues kept the agency from continuing; the USO fell dormant again until the advent of the war in Korea. The Defense Department needed the USO once more; $13 million was earmarked for USO operations as a result. Once the war was over, similar funding issues plagued the agency. Yet again, it went dormant until Vietnam operations started.
Vietnam was a new beginning of sorts, but the agency learned that peacetime operations would have the USO keeping a lower profile. At the end of the 1970s, the USO received a government charter; over the coming decades a greater emphasis would be placed on adding quality of life improvements for military families while retaining the entertainment and morale boosting activities it was famous for.
Today the USO offers help for military families including being an emergency contact resource for troops stationed overseas; if there is a death in the family or other crisis, family members can contact troops stationed overseas via the USO and get financial assistance with travel back home to attend funeral services, be present for sick or injured loved ones, and more.
Celebrating The Birthday of the USO
During the month of February, the USO itself will organize activities and events to honor its long history, and military bases all over the world-more than 200 locations-will have local activities to show their appreciation. From Darwin, Australia to Afghanistan, there are likely to be hundreds of individual local celebrations.
Read more: https://militarybenefits.info/uso-birthday/#ixzz6D07w9LMQ
Mark your calendars to now! The monthly meeting date for Post 29’s American Legion Rider group will be February the 18th at 11 AM.
The Sons of American Legion Squadron 29 is pleased to offer their monthly breakfast for February on the 18th. Open to the Public! Bring the little ones for a fun, family breakfast. This will be held at the Post located at 921 Gresham Ave NE Marietta, Ga. 30060. The hours will be 8 AM to 11 AM. Cost will be $10 per plate dine in and $12 a plate take out!
Join us in the Social Quarters to kick off your month of February as we host live music and dancing. Friday the 3rd from 7 PM-11 PM in the Social Quarters we have Spot On.
Saturday (the 4th) we want to hear you sing as we have Big Steve’s karaoke from 7 PM to 10 PM.
Saturday, February 4, 2023
We will be welcoming the Road Guardians – Accident Scene Management Training.
Join us for an all day seminar, hands on training. This event will train you to assist a fellow rider in the event they are involved in an accident while riding.
For more information visit: roadguardians.org
The monthly meeting of SAL Squadron 29 will be this Tuesday, January 24th starting at 6 PM. Looking forward to see you in the small hall.
Live music and dancing at the Post this Friday (the 27rd) from 7 PM-11 PM. Join us in the Social Quarters as we host South Paw.
Army and Navy first met on the field on November 29, 1890. They have met annually all but five years since then, and in every season since 1930. The game has been held at several locations throughout its history, including New York City and Baltimore, but has most frequently been played in Philadelphia, roughly equidistant from the two academies. Historically played on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (a date on which most other major college football teams end their regular seasons), the game is now played on the second Saturday in December and is traditionally the last regular-season game played in NCAA Division I football.
The rivalry between Annapolis and West Point, while friendly, is intense. The phrases “Beat Navy!” and “Beat Army!” are ingrained in the respective institutions and have become a symbol of competitiveness, not just in the Army–Navy Game, but in the service of the country. The phrases are often used at the close of (informal) letters by graduates of both academies. A long-standing tradition at the Army–Navy football game is to conduct a formal “prisoner exchange” as part of the pre-game activities. The prisoners are the cadets and midshipmen currently spending the semester studying at the sister academy. After the exchange, students have a brief reprieve to enjoy the game with their comrades.
The American national anthem is sung by members of the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy choirs. At the end of the game, both teams’ alma matres are performed. The winning team stands alongside the losing team and faces the losing academy’s students; then the losing team accompanies the winning team, facing their students. This is done in a show of mutual respect and solidarity. Since the winning team’s alma mater is always played last, the phrase “sing second” has become synonymous with winning the rivalry game.
Through the 2023 meeting, Navy leads the series 62–55–7 however, until next year…”Go Army!” rules the day.
See you next year for the 2023 game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.