[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 1186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATION'S 75TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to 
congratulate the United Service Organizations, commonly known as the 
USO, on its 75th anniversary. Since February 4, 1941, the USO has been 
serving alongside our men and women in uniform.
  Ahead of our entry into World War II and having witnessed the morale 
issues among the ranks during World War I, Army Chief of Staff General 
George C. Marshall called for an effort that would bring together 
private, civilian organizations to provide recreational activities and 
entertainment for the troops. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt 
stated, ``not by machines alone will we win this war,'' and so he 
directed the newly formed USO to keep servicemembers in touch with the 
comforts of home, no matter where they were deployed.
  Initially led by the YMCA, YWCA, the Salvation Army, the National 
Jewish Welfare Board, the National Catholic Community Service, and the 
Traveler's Aid Society, the USO provided servicemen with wholesome 
recreation and entertainment. According to Walter Hoving, one of the 
original directors of the USO, ``this is not only vital to military 
morale but also from the standpoint of the future of our youth as 
peacetime citizens.''
  Seventy-five years later, the USO continues to adapt to meet the 
needs of our men and women in uniform and their families. From USO 
centers at or near military installations across the United States and 
around the world, to their airport centers that offer around-the-clock 
hospitality for traveling servicemembers, to their trademark tours that 
bring America's celebrities to entertain our troops, to their support 
for military kids, wounded warriors and their caregivers, and families 
of the fallen, the USO has answered the call to serve those who serve 
our Nation.
  The USO remains a private organization, relying on the generosity of 
individuals, communities, and corporations and 30,000 dedicated 
volunteers. As General Eisenhower wrote many decades ago, ``the USO 
served also in providing a channel through which more than a million 
civilian men and women were able to help effectively in the war 
effort.'' The same holds true today.
  I would like to thank the many men and women of the USO who give so 
much to bring a bit of home to our servicemembers all over the globe. I 
congratulate the USO on 75 years of strengthening America's military by 
keeping servicemembers connected to family, home, and country wherever 
they go.

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