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Special Services (entertainment)

Former US military entertainment branch

Special Services were the entertainment branches of the American military.

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

The Army's Special Services opened their first Recreational Officer school at Fort Meade Maryland on April 1, 1942. Special Services were one of the few Army units to be racially integrated during World War II.

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

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

Partial list

Ian Abercrombie
Philip Ahn
Irwin Allen
Keith Andes
Desi Arnaz
Ed Asner
Humbert Allen Astredo
Arnold M. Auerbach
Albert Ayler
Burt Bacharach
Rey Marvin Baumel
Harry Bellaver
Tony Bennett
Ken Berry
James Best
Joey Bishop
Bobby Breen
Mel Brooks
William Browning
Don Budge
Red Buttons
Sid Caesar
Frank Capra
Al Checco
Dabney Coleman
Broderick Crawford
Bill Daily
Vic Damone
Philip D'Antoni
Sammy Davis Jr.
Bill Dickey
Bob Dishy
Melvyn Douglas
Ruby Jane Douglas
Andrew Duggan
Clint Eastwood
Lee Elder
Gene Evans
Maurice Evans
Bob Fosse
Dan Frazer
Phil Gersh
Johnny Gilbert
Frank Gorshin
Dave Madden
Carl Gottlieb
Hank Greenberg
Larry Hagman
Ray Harryhausen
John Michael Hayes
Peter Lind Hayes
Buck Henry
Nat Hiken
Sterling Holloway
James Hong
Rance Howard
Jim Hutton
Jules Irving
Burl Ives
David Janssen
Werner Klemperer
Richard Kline
Don Knotts
Burt Lancaster
Mario Lanza
Sol LeWitt
José Limón
Anatole Litvak
Jerry Livingston
Frank Loesser
Joshua Logan
Joe Louis
Allen Ludden
Mako
Karl Malden
Ralph Manza
Johnny Marks
Tony Martin
Ron Masak
Jody McCrea
Don Messick
Glenn Miller
Roger Miller
Martin Milner
Rudy Ray Moore
Howard Morris
Jules Munshin
Robert Nichols
Leonard Nimoy
Alex North
Donald O'Connor
Jack Paar
Arthur Penn
Nehemiah Persoff
Paul Picerni
Ted Post
Lloyd Price
Carl Reiner
Bobby Riggs
Phil Rizzuto
Sugar Ray Robinson
Mickey Rooney
Mitch Ryan
Lenny Schultz
Pete Seeger
Max Showalter
Hal Smith
Rip Taylor
Dick Van Dyke
Jerry Van Dyke
Chick Vennera
Fredd Wayne
Hy Zaret

In popular culture

On The Dick Van Dyke Show, the back story of the main character, Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke), included his post-war stint in Special Services, stationed in Texas near the Mexican border. A number of episodes dealt with this time period in flashbacks, showing his exploits as a boxer, how he met his future wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), a dancer with a touring show, their dating and wedding, and their close encounter with a Mexican divorce.

References

Notes

Further reading

Baird, Nancy Disher. "'To Lend You My Eyes...': The World War II Letters of Special Services Officer Harry Jackson." Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 88.3 (1990): 287–317, a primary source online
Cooke, James J. * Chewing Gum, Candy Bars, and Beer: The Army PX in World War II* (2009).
Cooke, James J. American Girls, Beer, and Glenn Miller: GI Morale in World War II (U of Missouri Press, 2012).
Kane, Liam. "Paving the Way to a 'Good Understanding': Recreation and Australian-American Army Cooperation in the South West Pacific Area, 1941–1945." Australasian Journal of American Studies 37.2 (2018) pp 27–52.
Rorke, Margaret Ann. "Music and the wounded of World War II." Journal of Music Therapy 33.3 (1996): 189–207.

References

P. 415 Emerson, William K. ''Encyclopedia of United States Army Insignia and Uniforms'' 1996 University of Oklahoma Press
p.57 Monod, David ''Settling scores: German Music, Denazification, & the Americans, 1945–1953'' UNC Press 2005
"Home".
Page 82, ''Leatherneck'' - Volume 44, Issue 3
"Shadow box".
"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.".
{{IMDb name
McLellan, Dennis. (11 May 2004). "Phil Gersh, 92; Agent With Old Hollywood Instincts, Art Patron". Los Angeles Times.
Television Academy]] via [[YouTube]]. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
[https://nedhardy.com/2022/04/02/richard-kline/ Whatever Happened To Richard Kline aka Larry From ‘Three’s Company’? (2022 Update)] nedhardy.com. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
Kovner, Guy. (2013-03-26). "Robert Nichols". [[The Press Democrat]].
"Seeger, Pete, Cpl".
(6 October 2019). "Rip Taylor, Flamboyant Comic and Host of 'The $1.98 Beauty Show,' Dies at 88".

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