BEGINNINGS

According to U.S. military accounts, the first military radio stations appeared in Panama and Alaska just prior to World War II. Early records are incomplete since there was no official U.S. military recognition of these local stations.

During the first days of U.S. entry into WWII, a military radio station was started on Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines by Douglas MacArthur's staff. The success of these early radio stations paved the way for the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS).

IT'S OFFICIAL!

On May 26, 1942 , the War Department officially established AFRS with the mission of providing programming, short-wave service, and broadcast equipment for U.S. military locations overseas. AFRS was established to keep American forces informed and entertained. Hollywood was selected as the state-side home for the new unit. Veteran advertising executive Tom Lewis was its first commander.

LEWIS IN COMMAND

Prominent radio producer and advertising executive Thomas H. Lewis accepted an Army Major's commission and was ordered to form the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS), and became its first commander and the father of armed forces broadcasting.

Lewis started his radio career as a writer and producer at radio station WGY, Schenectady, New York. From there he went to Cleveland where he worked for NBC, and within a few years became Vice President in Charge of Radio Production for Young and Rubicam, one of the country's largest advertising agencies. Here, he originated and supervised some of the most popular and well-known programs . . . Kate Smith, Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, the Aldrich Family, and many others.

BUILDING THE NETWORK

By 1945, the Armed Forces Radio Service was serving more than 150 outlets, stretching from Frankfurt, Germany, to the Soloman Islands, with weekly shipments of program and music transcriptions, and shortwave newcasts around the clock from its Los Angeles Broadcast Center headquarters. Much of the programming was distributed on large records called transcription discs. Live programming was fed to affiliates via a number of shortwave relay stations. Telephone delivery was impractical and satellite delivery of programming would not occur until the late 1960s

During World War II, AFRS beamed to soldiers and sailors all over the world more than 5,000 hours of straight programs, special events, and newscasts monthly. In 1945, it had 162 Armed Forces radio stations, 55 foreign government and commercial stations, and 162 sound systems in daily operation overseas making it the world's largest broadcasting system, with a direct audience of 12 million.

In addition to using its own studios, AFRS made use of CBS, NBC, and other studios to produce programs. The AFRTS Broadcast Center at March Air Force Base is the continuation of this heritage.

THE PROGRAMMING

While the primary mission of AFRS was to let the troops know why they were in uniform, Lewis knew that in order to do so effectively, he would have to produce programming that was also entertaining.

Lewis refined the concept of a "G.I. Radio Network" by drawing together the resources of the military and the talents of Hollywood. The biggest names in the entertainment industry rallied to the call, and he quickly assembled a special team of military and civilian broadcasters who created more than 100 different productions by the end of the war, including such legendary programs as , "Jubilee", "Command Performance","G.I. Journal", and "Mail Call".  

SOURCES

The material was gathered from AFRTS sources and personal recollections.

If you have additional information to contribute to this history or wish to correct an error in this account, please contact Jim Grubbs.