Fort Huachuca During WWII
Minority Service Members:
MWR - Morale, Welfare, and Recreation
Marker:
Panel 4: One of five commemorative panels honoring minority service members
Location:
Fort Huachuca
Please refer to the visitors’ guide for information about visiting these markers at Fort Huachuca.
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Panel Images and Text, including image descriptions for visually impaired website visitors
(title) MWR – Morale, Welfare, and Recreation:
(Body) When Soldiers were off duty, they filled their time in a variety of ways. Sports included football, basketball and boxing. The Blue Helmet newspaper for Black readers was written by volunteers. Musical groups provided entertainment. WAC recreational officers Geraldine Bright and Mercedes Jordan created musical revues, glee clubs, and USO comedies. Celebrities visited Fort Huachuca, including Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Joe Louis, and Dinah Shore.
Image Captions and Descriptions:
(Top group of four)
First: Sgt. Joe Louis sparring.
A boxing ring with two boxers.
Second: Beauty parlor in the WAC area.
Two women, one seated and wearing a salon cape and the second, smiling, appears to be trimming her hair.
Third: Roller-skating at one of two rinks in Fort Huachuca
Three smiling adults on roller skates.
Fourth: Soldier and WACs in Fort Huachuca’s performance of the musical “G. I. Rhapsody.”
Five adults in costume, onstage.
(Above four photos courtesy of The Apache Sentinel, Library of Congress)
(Left) “Four Aces” of 372nd football team.
Four young men wearing football uniforms and helmets, posed on a field with bleachers in the background.
(Courtesy of the Jack Miller Collection of Photos at Boston Public Library)
(Bottom group of three) Members of the 32nd and 33rd Company’s WAAC basketball team.
Women on an outdoor basketball court. One woman is leaping. The backboard appears to be made of wood. Mountains are in the background.
(Courtesy of New York Public Library)
Volunteer working at The Blue Helmet newspaper.
A young man stands in front of a printing press, holding and looking at a newspaper.
(Courtesy of the Jack Miller Collection of Photos at Boston Public Library)
Lena Horne singing at Hollywood Committee show, 1942.
An outdoor stage. A woman stands at a microphone. Audience members appear to be seated on bleachers.
(Courtesy of National Archives)
(Right top) Christmas Service Club Dance.
A dance floor with a dancing couple in the foreground. Many adults in uniform are in the background. The scene appears to be in the main portion of the building with the center portion two stories high. A mezzanine with auditorium-style seats is in the background.
(Courtesy of the Jack Miller Collection of Photos at Boston Public Library)
(Right center) Huachuca jam – 372nd musicians.
An eight-piece band is gather around a piano. Instruments include bass, clarinet, and saxophone.
(Courtesy of the Jack Miller Collection of Photos at Boston Public Library)
(Right bottom) Formal Dance and Open House at the Mountain View Officers’ Club, 1943.
Six men wearing dress uniforms are standing behind five seated women. The women’s clothing suggests a formal, party atmosphere.
(Courtesy of The Apache Sentinel, Library of Congress)
(Footer) This panel has been donated by the Arizona State Society Daughters of the American Revolution (2024).
Marker Date:
2024
Dedicated:
April 25, 2024
Sponsor:
Arizona State Society, DAR
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Unless otherwise noted, images are courtesy of Arizona State Society, DAR, Daughters.