Special Services (entertainment) explained

Special Services was the entertainment branch of the American military. The unit was created on 22 July 1940 by the War Department as part of the Army Service Forces.[1] Special Services not only used its own specially trained and talented troops but also would often engage local performers.[2] Among its activities were staging plays and stage acts, holding concerts, filming documentaries, and providing recreational opportunities for servicemen.

Special Services were one of the few U.S. Army units to be racially integrated during World War II. Special Services opened their first Recreational Officer school at Fort Meade Maryland on 1 April 1942.[3]

Within the United States Marine Corps, the Special Services Division was the forerunner of today's Special Services Branch. It was formed on 1 March 1943, to provide morale maintaining recreational and informational services to Marine Corps personnel.[4] [5] As of at least 2004, the Special Services Branch was still active within the USMC.[6]

Roles

Roles within the Special Services (defined as Military Occupational Specialties) included that of Entertainment Specialist (03B), Physical Activities Specialist (03C), Crafts Specialist (03D), and Recreation Service Senior Sergeant (03Z).

Special Service members

Some personalities who served in the Special Services include actors Burt Lancaster, Leonard Nimoy, Mickey Rooney, and Sammy Davis Jr.; film director Anatole Litvak, bandleader Glenn Miller, tenor Mario Lanza, folk singer Peter Seeger, and baseball slugger Hank Greenberg.

Expanded (partial) list

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. P. 415 Emerson, William K. Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms 1996 University of Oklahoma Press
  2. p.57 Monod, David Settling scores: German Music, Denazification, & the Americans, 1945–1953 UNC Press 2005
  3. Web site: Home.
  4. Page 82, Leatherneck - Volume 44, Issue 3
  5. Web site: Shadow box. army.togetherweserved.com. 2020-04-01.
  6. Web site: United States Marine Corps (USMC): Officer Job Descriptions MOS 9913: Special Services Officer, who 'supervises and coordinates special services activities involved with command morale, welfare, and recreation programs,' among other duties.. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040921000736/http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/marineofficerjobs/bl9913.htm . 21 September 2004 . 14 April 2020.
  7. Web site: Phil Gersh, 92; Agent With Old Hollywood Instincts, Art Patron. Dennis. McLellan. 11 May 2004. Los Angeles Times. 18 January 2017.
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GnzpmHYFS4 Writer Carl Gottlieb on serving in the Army - TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews
  9. https://nedhardy.com/2022/04/02/richard-kline/ Whatever Happened To Richard Kline aka Larry From ‘Three’s Company’? (2022 Update)
  10. News: Guy . Kovner . Robert Nichols . . 2013-03-26 . 2013-04-09 . 31 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130331114123/http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20130326/ARTICLES/130329610 . dead .
  11. Web site: Seeger, Pete, Cpl . 14 April 2020.
  12. Web site: Koseluk . Chris . Rip Taylor, Flamboyant Comic and Host of 'The $1.98 Beauty Show,' Dies at 88 . The Hollywood Reporter . 6 October 2019 . 16 January 2020 . hollywood . en.

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