Hello December!

Well Christmas month is here and the spirit is starting to flow. I've even seen some trees and lights put up already; Santa and his elves must be hard at work! No snow yet, just starting to get cold at night and am wondering if we will have a white Christmas? I am looking forward to seeing a USO show when they come to the base. Don't know who it will be yet but I will be curious because I am aware of the USO's historical significance, and old enough to remember seeing clips of Bob Hope and his tours/shows during a variety of wars whether it was from the Vietnam era or black and white clips from years past.

I am a huge supporter of the USO because I see firsthand what this volunteer organization does to help the troops, whether it is providing space at airports for traveling soldiers to rest and relax, or at each base providing wireless internet, video games, movies, books, coffee, phone calls home, etc. They are AWESOME and my hat goes off to them. (If you donate money to charitable organizations, consider making a tax-deductible gift to the USO )

Teachers, here's one for the students: Have your students get in groups and research what the USO is and what role they play in supporting our military. Different research possibilities are: Interview parents on what they remember about the USO; Who were some of the movie stars, entertainers, musicians and groups that toured with the USO? What countries has the USO visited? What wars did they play an important role in? Download some YouTube videos of past USO shows to share with the class; Plan a USO tour for our current troops - Where would they go? Who would they send? There should be plenty of archival history to have fun with this subject!