Special Services (entertainment)


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 included that of Entertainment Specialist, Physical Activities Specialist, Crafts Specialist, and Recreation Service Senior Sergeant.

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

In popular culture

On The [Dick Van Dyke Show], the back story of the main character, Rob Petrie, 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, a dancer with a touring show, their dating and wedding, and their close encounter with a Mexican divorce.