THE VOICE OF AMERICA
On the April 27, 2024 Star-Spangled Radio Hour program, I discussed the history and status of the Office of War Information “Uncles Sam Presents” series of programs recorded for the Voice of America and its worldwide network of regional radio stations around the world during World War II. The purpose of this statement is to report the current status of Uncle Sam Presents documentation and preservation. Documentation in the records of the Office of War Information and NBC confirms the following updates to the Glenn Miller Collections historic knowledge base regarding the Uncle Sam Presents recording sessions. I am presenting this information in my 2024 Glenn Miller Birthplace Society presentation, “Long Ago and Far Away, Glenn Miller, 1944-2024.” The documentation includes recent discoveries and the materials gathered for my book “America Ascendant” which detailed the collaborative wartime information and entertainment activities of the United States government and media.
From July 17, 1943 through September 4, 1943, the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra directed by Capt. Glenn Miller recorded a series of Uncle Sam Presents programs for the OWI from the CBS Radio Theatre No. 4 in New York, New York. The main cbs control room received the programs by a direct line. The AAF unit recorded the programs at CBS when they were there to broadcast the “I Sustain the Wings” series. From September 18, 1943 through June 3, 1944, the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra directed by Capt. Glenn Miller recorded Uncle Sam Presents programs for the OWI from the NBC Vanderbilt Theater in New York, New York. The control room at NBC Radio City received the programs by a direct line. NBC had resources dedicated to making recordings for the OWI, SSD/AFRS and V-Discs.
LISTEN
ABOUT THE RECORDINGS
Uncle Sam Presents programs were 16″ Discs recorded at NBC from A master recording and sent around the world. also, to reproduce parts from the series for other government agencies. These included the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) and the Coordinator for Inter-American Affairs (CIAA). Examples include the AFRS Basic Music Library, NBC/CIAA Musica De Las Fuerzas Aereas and Musica Del Grupo de Entretenimento. Numerous other AFRS programs also included selections from Uncle Sam Presents episodes. NBC also recorded other OWI programs for the Voice of America. These included the Music From America series, on site at Studio 6-A, Radio City (Rockefeller Center). The Miller AAF organization recorded twenty-four Music from America episodes, between March 10 and June 2, 1944. These were Friday afternoons prior to their Saturday activities from the Vanderbilt Theater.
Following World War II, the master CBS and NBC recordings came into the possession of the Glenn Miller Estate and/or were retained by RCA in cooperation with the Estate. RCA made tape copies of entire episodes and parts for archival purposes and for their 5-LP 1956 album, Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band, which Successor BMG enhanced and reissued as a 4-CD set in 2001. The Miller Estate received Tape copies. Over time, many Uncle Sam Presents materials disappeared from RCA and then circulated among record collectors and Miller devotees. In addition to Capt. Miller’s I Sustain the Wings NBC network broadcasts, Sony Legacy continues to house his Uncle Sam Presents materials. The Glenn Miller Collections preserves Estate copies.
CONCLUSIONS
To clear up an historic misunderstanding due to incomplete documentation, NBC recorded Uncle Sam Presents at the NBC Vanderbilt Theater and They transmitted the audio to Radio City. Given the AAF unit’s schedule and physical requirements, this makes common sense. Until now, our knowledge base has considered the matter probable. It is understandable that NBC logged the programs as recorded at Radio City, but the originating location was the NBC Vanderbilt Theater. However, separate voice announcements exist for Capt. Glenn Miller and Lt. Donald Briggs. The producers may have used the voice parts for edits but also to make May 6 – June 3, 1944 episodes. Our current documentation lists some of these on April 29, 1944. Therefore, NBC had assemble programs because Capt. Miller was on leave from May 9 through June 2, 1944. During that period, the AAF unit continued to record and broadcast in his absence.
Concerning the release of updated and/or additional recordings from Uncle Sam Presents, Sony Legacy and the Glenn Miller Collections/Estate will determine how and when such materials will be announced, detailed, restored and ultimately presented, with the advice of and in collaboration with our important private collector community. And Uncle Sam Presents continues to be a key component of the Star-Spangled Radio Hour series. The status of Uncle Sam Presents is at the core of what our preservation and presentation responsibilities are all about. I will have more to say about this on June 8, when we will honor Ed Polic, whose dedication to documentation, accuracy and precision continues to inspire us – Dennis M. Spragg, author, “Glenn Miller Declassified.”