ORGANIZATION

1. Organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services on 1 July 1947.
a. The Office of the Chief of Special Services, a special staff division of Headquarters, EUCOM, was headed by Maj. Gen. Alexander R. Bolling.

b. The Office consisted of a Chief, a Deputy, an Executive Officer, six brancnes, and the EUCOM Exchange System, and operated with a strength of 32 officers, 67 enlisted men, 420 United States and Allied civilians, and 43 German and displaced persons, exclusive of the EUCOM Exchange System. Of the 420 United States and Allied civilians, all but 60 were employed in the field as hostesses, librarians, and Civilian Actress Technicians. The branches were Administration, Athletic, Entertainment, Recreation, Supply and Technical Information. Chart I (a) accompanying this chapter depicts the organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services.

c. Five companies under the operational control of the Chief of Special Services assisted in the Special Services program. These were:

(1) The 1st Special Services Company with a strength of ten officers and eighty-nine enlisted men. It operated the three rest centers at Berchtesgaden, Chiemsee, and Garmisch.

(2) The 2d Special Services Company, consisting of five officers and ninety-two enlisted men, stationed in Heidelberg and Wiesbaden. It worked with the U.S. Constabulary and the Second Military District.

(3) The 3d Special Services Company, composed of three officers and ninety-nine enlisted men, operated the 7729th Special Services Entertainment Center at Assmannshausen.

(4) The 17th Special Services Company with officers and 102 enlisted service men, stationed in Munich. It operated with Negro (African American) troops in the First Military District.

(5) The 30th Special Services Company, consisted of one officer and fifty-four enlisted men, stationed in Vienna, worked with U. S. Forces, Austria.

2. Changes in Organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services.

a. Two changes occurred in the internal organization of the Office of the Chief of Special Services during the period under review. On 15 July, the Denmark Liaison Detachment, which operated under the control of the Tours Section, was dissolved and the operation of the Denmark tour was transferred to the American Express Company. The second change took place on 14 September, when the Inter-Allied Sports Section of the Athletic Branch was discontinued by direction of the Commander in Chief, EUCOM. The need for such a section ceased with the discontinuance of all Inter-Allied athletic meets at European Command level, owing to transportation difficulties, a scarcity of hotel rooms, the problem of feeding visiting athletes, and the governmental expense of inter-Allied athletic events sponsored by the United States.

b. The actual strength of officers, enlisted men, and locally recruited employees in the Office of the Chief of Special Services on 30 September was the same as at the beginning of July. The number of United States and Allied civilians employed, however, had decreased from 420 to 373. This decrease was possible because of the discontinuance of certain military establishments in the European Command.

ENTERTAINMENT

8. Live Shows

Other important parts of the entertainment program were soldier shows, radio programs, personal appearances of outstanding personalities, allied and German entertainers, and musical programs.

a. All but nine of the enlisted strength of the 3d Special Services Company which operated the 7729th Special Services Entertainment Center at Assmannshausen were members of the various casts or were employed as advance agents. Directing all soldier shows and participating in them were thirty-four Civilian Actress Technicians (CAT's). In addition, a CAT formerly with the American Red Cross was employed to assist in soldier shows and the radio programs. One important change occurred in the soldier show program. On 22 August, Headquarters, EUCOM, announced that, since the object of soldier shows was to afford high caliber entertainment similar to that offered in the United States for small isolated units which ordinarily had insufficient facilities and means to obtain or produce entertainment for themselves, there would no longer be any price admission on soldier shows after 1 September. Priority in booking was listed as follows: Red Cross clubs, service clubs, theaters, hospitals, mess halls, and Class "B" clubs provided that there were no facilities for entertainment of the desired quality in the community or post and that no intoxicating liquor was served before and during the performance. On 15 September the order of priority for booking soldier shows was changed to read: Class "A" clubs, theaters, hospitals, mess halls, and Class "B" clubs. The number of solider shows increased to sixteen, being five more than
the another in operation on 30 June.

b. The radio subsection of the Office of the Chief of Special Services presented radio programs through the American Forces Network (AFN). Five programs were broadcast regularly. In addition, spot announcements were made and special broascasts were planned when it was deemd necessary. Every Wednesday, during the period 1300-1330, a record entitled "AFN Librarian" was transmitted by one of the Special Services librarians in Munich. On Sundays, during the period 1300-1330, AFN Frankfurt broadcast a program called "Special Services Radio Theater." It was a record made by either a soldier or civilian show performing in the vicinity of Frankfurt. A live show entitled "It's All Yours" was transmitted every Sunday in Bad Nauheim during the period 2000-2030. The cast consisted of twenty-two enlisted men who were musicians, two enlisted men who were vocalists, one CAT, and three specialists from AFN. This show was perhaps the most popular and, because of the great demands that came from all parts of the European Command it was placed on the road for personnel appearances on 6 July. "Special 15," a program featuring Special Services and EUCOM Exchange System news, went on the air from 0845 to 0900 hours on Saturdays beginning on 23 August. Also, when available, guest stars were interviewed. The Eagle Club in Wiesbaden sponsored a program entitled "Easy Listening" during the period 1530-1600 on Thursdays. The program featured enlisted men in an informal variety show which was formerly sponsored by the American Red Gross.

c. The Cultural Activities and Special Events Subsection (the Cultural Subsection prior to 11 July) of the Office of the Chief of Special Services procured outstanding personalities to perform gratuitously in the European Command. The first person to appear during the period under review was Rita Hayworth who appeared at Wiesbaden, Wetzlar, Giessen, Marburg, Hersfeld, Fritzlar, Kassel, Fulda, Hanau, Frankfurt, Bad Nauheim, Würzburg, and Nürnberg, during the period 30 June - 7 July. During the period 31 July - 17 August, a cast called "Berlin Express," consisting of Merle Oberon, Paul Lukas, Robert Ryan, Robert Coote, Charles Korvin, and Peter vaon Zerneck made several personal appearances in hospitals, Army clubs, and messes in Bad Nauheim, Frankfurt, and Friedberg. A quartet consisting of Don Budge, Bobby Riggs, Pauline Betz, and Sarah Cooks appeared at Bad Nauheirm, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Garmisch during the period 7-14 August. On 14 August, Yehudi Menuhin played a concert in Munich. Chico Marx, Peggy Ryan, Jimmie Cross, and the Bobby Naret Band appeared in Bad Nauheim, Frankfurt, Munich, Garmisch, and Nürnberg, during the period 18-23 August. At Bad Nauheim, this group broadcast over AFN under the title "Thirty Minutes of Radio Fun." In addition, Miss Ryan was interviewed over AFN on the program "Special 15." Wallace Berrey visited clubs, messes, and hospitals in Bad Nauheim, Wiesbaden, and Berlin from 11 to 15 September. He was also a guest of Berlin Command Special Services at the inter-Allied track and field meet held in Berlin and was interviewed over AFN in "Special 15."

d. Two important changes occurred in the Allied and Gerrman show program. On 23 July it was announced that rail transportation costs of all militay and civilian personnel traveling on United States military duty trains and military coaches attached to German civilian trains on show business would be borne by the EUCOM Civilian Show fund. On 15 August it was announced that the cost of operating government motor vehicles used to transport civilian entertainers within any post would be charged to Special Services of that post at an hourly rate as specified in EUCOM Circular 68, 15 August 1947. Twenty-four shows and a 20-piece dance orchestra France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, were employed at an verage weekly cost of $850.00 compared to an average weekly cost of $900.00 during the previous quarter. Fulda ceased being a booking center when the military post with headquarters in that city was discontinued on 1 September 1947. Berlin and Frankfurt ceased being booking centors when a poliomyelitis epidemic developed in the former city and when the military post with headquarters in the latter city was being reorganized. Booking centers listed on 30 September were Nürnberg (two bookings), Darmstadt, Munich, Bad Kissingen, Bremerhaven, Bremen, Bad Nauheim, Wiesbaden, Tegernsee, and Wetzlar. As the period ended, a revised Standing Operating Procedure which governed the pay, messing, billeting, and post exchange privileges of Allied entertainers was under consideration.

e. German shows and bands, unlike Allied shows and dance orchestras, were provided to units upon payment of a fixed sum for each performance. The price for each performance averaged $93.00. Sixty-three units and 5 bands vere employed.

f. The music subsection of the Office of the Chief of Special Services continued to plan and supervise musical activities. The butget submitted for Fiscal Year 1949 totaled $343,066.03. Two transfers of the four Special Services bands (TD/A units) were made. On or about 7 July, the 7764th Special Services Band, a African American unit, was transferred from Headquarters, EUCOM, to the Nürnberg Military Post. On or about 22 September, the 7766th Special Services Band was transferred from Assmannshausen to Bad Nauheim. It continued broadcasting "It's All Yours" over the AFN radio network. The other two Special Services Bands, the 7765th and 7767th remained in Gelnhausen and in Assmannshausen, respectively. Army bands (T/O& E units), stationed in various parts of the European Command numbered twenty-one. Arrangements were made with OMGUS for the manufacture of 2000 bugle call records by a German manufacturer. On 6 September, the 7701st EUCOM Band Training Unit was activated at Seckenheim. It was under the operational control of the Chief of Special Services and consisted of a faculty of two officers, one warrant officer, twenty-eight enlisted men, and twenty-three Germans. Enrollment for the first class consisted of sixty-five white and thirty African American students.

RECREATION

9. Service Clubs.

Special Services accepted control of sixteen Red Crow clubs, the first to be transferred under a policy established by the War Department in April. Other service clubs were in localities where they were most needed, keeping within the number of clubs and hostesses authorized, which were 85 and 298, respectively. Four clubs, the Whistle Stop and the Journey's Inn at Bremerhaven, the Air Corps Club at Schweinfurt, and the RTO lounge in Frankfurt, were closed. Meanwhile, the club at Amberg was transferred to Regensburg and the one at Gelnhausen was transferred to Headquarters Command, EUCOM. The hostess stationed at the Eibsee Hotel in Garmisch was transferred to Berlin and the American Graves Registration Command hostess in Fontainebleau and Versailles was not replaced when the incumbent returned to the United States in September. In all, there were sixteen hostesses whose contracts terminated and sixteen Red Cross supervisors were employed to replace them. In addition, a requisition was placed with the Office of the Chief, Recreation Branch, Washington, D.C., for forty hostesses to arrive in the European Command on or about 1 November and for an additional fifty hostesses to arrive on or about 1 December. Also, Special Services requested additional funds to employ a total of 353 hostesses by 1December so as to allow an average of four hostesses for each club. By September, there were 203 hostesses, 68 clubs, and one RTO lounge in the European Command and records indicate that there was an attendance of approximately 2,703,505 at service clubs during the three months under review.

10. Rest Centers.

The three rest centers at Berchtegaden, Chiemsee, and Garmisch, all in southern Germany, continued to operate for the convenience of EUCOM, USFA, and USAFE personnel and their dependents. Although figures are not available on the number of persons visiting the three centers, quotas allotted to EUCOM and USAFE for the three months period at Berchtesgaden (including Chiemsee) and Garmisch recreational areas were 711 and 985, respectively.

(a) The organizational chart provided in the scan of this manuscript is incomplete -- poorly scanned. In its place, I have taken the organizational chart from the Second Quarter, 1947 (see above)