{"id":976,"date":"2009-10-20T11:37:53","date_gmt":"2009-10-20T15:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=976"},"modified":"2009-10-20T13:26:48","modified_gmt":"2009-10-20T17:26:48","slug":"comic-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=976","title":{"rendered":"Comic Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"

A researcher inquiry recently led me to review the John C. Becher Soldier Show Collection and get a few laughs in the process.\u00c2\u00a0 The collection illustrates the various ways the U.S. military used comedy to maintain high morale during World War II.\u00c2\u00a0 Spanning the years 1940-1953, the collection includes poems, quizzes, crafts manuals, original songs, song parodies, sheet music, pamphlets, theatrical manuals and guides, and comedy routines.\u00c2\u00a0 A significant portion of the material was created by military personnel attending the Special Services School in Lexington, Virginia. Unlike entertainment produced by the USO-camp shows, the Becher Collection highlights material produced by soldiers for soldiers.\u00c2\u00a0 Intended to engage soldiers through participation, the collection reveals insight into the mentality of World War II soldiers and the era in general.<\/p>\n

\"Soldier

Cover of a Soldier Show script.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Soldier

Cover of a Soldier Show script.<\/p><\/div>\n

Those participating in soldier shows sang parodies, read poetry, and performed comedy routines.\u00c2\u00a0 Below are a few of my favorite pieces from the collection.<\/p>\n

\"What

What To Do In Case Of An Air Raid<\/p><\/div>\n

\"How

How To Be A Success In The Army<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Chow

Chow Hounds General Orders<\/p><\/div>\n

For more information about the John C. Becher Soldier Show Collection, please see http:\/\/sca.gmu.edu\/finding_aids\/becher.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A researcher inquiry recently led me to review the John C. Becher Soldier Show Collection and get a few laughs in the process.\u00c2\u00a0 The collection illustrates the various ways the U.S. military used comedy to maintain high morale during World War II.\u00c2\u00a0 Spanning the years 1940-1953, the collection includes poems, quizzes, crafts manuals, original songs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[29,106,108,107,79],"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scrc-interest","tag-gmu-libraries","tag-john-becher","tag-military","tag-soldier-shows","tag-world-war-ii"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t