End of the year

We need your help at the end of the year.  Your memories, the things you saved make this into the special place it is and I thank you.

 

You can help right now by putting a few bucks in the kitty.  Over the year it helps with getting recordings, hardware and the internet things to make it happen to make it available here.  The easiest way is the PayPal link on the left.  That link isn't there if you're using a mobile device, click "donate" to help.

Your help makes this a nicer place. Thank you.

 

If you don't like PayPal, just drop me a note and I'll send the street address.  It's not a secret just best to not post it on the internet. email Thom, click here

 

Thank you for visiting.  Be sure to tell a friend!

Happy New Year!

Thom

Merry Christmas!

 

I hope that you and yours had a wonderful Christmas.

 

Christmas memories on AFRTS

Boston Pops - 1957

Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and AFRTS had a long relationship.  From WWII well into the 1970s they shared the same stage.  Here's a 1957 visit, with works of Ferde Groffe.

Boston Pops - 1957

More Boston Pops

Command Performance - Christmas 1942

So AFRS did run on US radio.  As a special treat, the Christmas 1942 show ran on all of the US networks.  Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Command Performance - Christmas 1942

More Christmas shows

Gail Anderson - AFN Berlin - 1994

In 1994 an era was over, AFN Berlin was shut down.  Gail Anderson had the last morning show.

Gail Anderson - AFN Berlin last morning show - part two 1994

More from AFN

Chris Noel - Christmas 1969

She worked hard.  Chris would have had a lot of frequent flier miles.  She brought home to troops all over the world.  It made the world a better place.  Now Chris is a prolific writer.  She just completed a new book about the making of "Beach Ball", you should read this.  Click here

Here's a Christmas 1969 visit.

Date With Christmas - Christmas week 1969

More Christmas Memories

Jimmy Wakely - Christmas 1968

Jimmy Wakely wishes you a very Merry Christmas 1968.

Jimmy Wakely - Christmas 1968

More Christmas Memories

More Jimmy Wakely

Spectrum USA - 1971

Dick Stark is back with the music of Millard Fillmore.  Not really, but in 1971 he did a great series of shows for Marine Reserve Recruiting.  Soft music and great stories, Spectrum USA.

Spectrum USA - 1971

More Spectrum USA

Stay in touch!

One of the best ways to stay in touch is to "like" the blog facebook page.

afrtsarchive Facebook page

There's also a periodic email list, rarely more than once a week.  Drop me a note to be added.

Email Thom

 

 

 

Jack Spector - WMCA - 1969

Back to the Coke shows!  No one seems to know what the story is on these.  In 1969 AFRTS had some sort of arrangement with some of the great jocks in the states and shows were pressed.  These disks did not have AFRTS labels, most had commercials.  Coke paid the have the albums distributed.  WMCA NY seems to have been represented the best.  Here's a visit with Jack Spector.  Jack mentions the Coke funding.

Jack Spector - 1969 - WMCA

More Coke shows

Hold High The Torch - 2nd Marine Division - 1947

In the late 1940s AFRS did many shows to explain the mission.  A lot of why and how.  Glenn Ford had spent WWII as a Marine.  He stars in this production highlighting the Marines in Tarawa. Take a listen.

Hold High the Torch - Glenn Ford

 

More Old Time Radio

 

Marine killed at Tarawa to be buried at Arlington 2015

AFVN Billy Williams - 1972

“Here's part one, Thom. I started in Vietnam as a Signal Corps bench technician at AVEL Central (Avionics/Aviation Electronics) in 1971. While on the bench repairing helicopter radios at AVEL, most of us also had a radio tuned to AFVN 540 KHz in Saigon. 10 hour shifts--sometimes days and sometimes nights if the backlog justified double shifts. I heard a "cattle call" on AFVN 540 one day. A few weeks later, I arrived at AFVN Saigon and trained on the "backboard" in AFVN television master control for a week or two. Then up country to Qui Nhon AFVN on Vung Chua Mountain to run the TV station mounted in a van. Qui Nhon detachment closed after Tet 1972 when Vung Chua Mtn signal site (where AFVN was co-located) came close to being overrun. Then on to Da Nang AFVN on Monkey Mountain to work TV master control. Also did TV news/sports there and the C&W afternoon show--they must have been very short-handed. When Capt. Webb went to Saigon, I filled in on DDB. Then he came back as Army Spec. Brett Webb and DEROSed not long after. They were daring me to send out "One Monkey" to a General at the bottom of the hill--but no thanks. A few weeks later...on to Saigon. Did Nightbeat and then Orient Express overnight show until returning to U.S. in late Sept. 1972. More on the historical web site that I maintain for the local Amateur "ham" Radio group.

AFVN Da Nang - Billy Williams - 1972

More from AFVN