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Before WWII, many exciting developments in sound production had been made. Electrical recordings were being used to cut shellac records, and the development of vinyl records, with their higher quality and ability to hold about 7 times more audio information, were right around the corner. Radio was experiencing a golden age, with hundreds of popular shows and numerous advancements in sound quality. The excitement around music did not go away when WWII started, and certainly not in internment camps. Music and radio provided hope and comfort to those in internment camps.

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Radio entertainment was fundamental to the American household from 1920 to 1950 because it provided families with refuge from the chaos of World War II and the Great Depression. In 1930, "12 million American households owned a radio, and by 1939, this total had expanded to more than 28 million" ("Radio in the 1930s"). The drastic increase in ownership of radios is reflective of their value in the American home. Despite the Great Depression drastically decreasing the disposable income for most families, buying radios was a priority. This was because programs featured, "soap operas such as Ma Perkins[,]... the adventure series Little Orphan Annie[,]... the Shadow, a crime drama[, and]... the War of the Worlds" ("Golden Age of American Radio"). The variety of formats provided something for every member of the family to enjoy. Additionally, the accessibility of content for all ages provided an escape from dark times. Jeanne even remarked that,"familiar radio programs [filled] up the late afternoons and evenings: Jack Armstrong, Captain Midnight, The Whistler, I Love a Mystery" (Houston 140). Houston's remarks show that programs were successful at reaching their target audiences. All of the programs that Houston listed were children's programs. Another example of a program that reached its target audience is Amos 'n' Andy. It became, "the highest-rated comedy in radio history, attracting more than 40 million listeners" ("Original 'Amos 'n' Andy' Debuts on Chicago Radio). This statement shows that there was a preference towards lighthearted programs. The show's popularity also furthers the ideas that radio was a common pastime because programs were places of respite during World War II and the Great Depression. With the widespread usage of radio and the broadcasting of content for all ages, it comes as no surprise that Jeanne had many fond memories of radio programs from her childhood.

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Music was a source of joy and escapism for people in internment camps. In Farewell to Manzanar, the author states, “After a while Papa sang the first line of the Japanese national anthem, Kimi Ga Yo…Almost invisible in the stove’s small glow, tears began running down his face” (Houston, 80). This shows a moment of catharsis for Jeanne’s father as he laments his country and his circumstances. The words to the Japanese national anthem were written during the Heian period (as early as 794), so the song is very ingrained in Japanese culture. This is a way for Jeanne’s father to take back his cultural pride. This power of music was not limited to Japanese music or even Japanese people. The big band jazz leader once said, “We didn’t come here to set any fashions in music. We merely came to bring a much-needed touch of home to some lads who have been here a couple of years.” This shows that musicians were aware of the power of music during the war. Furthermore, his message of bringing a touch of home could easily apply to all who heard his music. The people in Japanese internment camps certainly did. In Farewell to Manzanar, the author states, “He [Billy] didn’t sing “Don’t Fence Me In” out of protest, as if trying quietly to mock the authorities. It just happened to be a hit song one year, and they all wanted to be an up-to-date American swing band. They would blast it out into recreation barracks full of bobby-soxed, jitter-bugging couples[.]” These couples that were dancing were obviously joyful as dancing is a joyful act. Furthermore, Billy didn’t want to play a song because of his internment; he just wanted to play music. This shows how music brought joy to those in internment camps.

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Radio entertainment provided people in Japanese internment camps with regular entertainment for all ages, which was important while they were struggling to adapt to life in Manzanar. Separately, music provided both a hobby for people in camp and a way to express their culture. That is why the radio played a pivotal role in internment camps; it provided people with an escape from the hard times associated with World War II and internment camps.

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Captain Midnight: episode 001 - ComicWeb Old Time Radio

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Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki, and James D. Houston. Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience during and after the World War II Internment. Turtleback Books, 2017.

“Japanese National Anthem.” World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/japan/

anthem. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

Martin, Kali. “Major Glenn Miller: The Loss of an Icon.” The National WWII Museum, 19 Dec. 2019, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/

major glenn-miller-loss-icon. Accessed 25 Jan. 2024.

“The Development of Radio.” American Experience, 18 Sept. 2019, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/

features/rescue-development-radio/. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024.

“The History of 78 RPM Recordings.” Yale University Library, https://web.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music

/historyof78rpms. Accessed 26 Jan. 2024.

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In the spring of 1944, the war in Europe was nearing a turning point. Axis and Allies alike were waiting for the long-anticipated Allied invasion of the continent, and both sides were preparing. In spite of the monumental responsibilities required of the Supreme Allied Commander in the weeks before the invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower was thinking ahead to the days, weeks, and months that would follow. Eisenhower knew that those same GIs who needed the connection to home and boost of morale brought about by the music made available to them through the American Forces Network (AFN) would need to keep that connection once they crossed the English Channel.

In May 1944, Eisenhower put out an order to create an additional radio program to follow Allied troops into continental Europe. Personnel from the AFN, SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) staff, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had to work together, overcoming the usual rivalries and competition over who was really in control over the programming and whether the Americans and British should continue their own separate broadcasts. Eisenhower insisted that the programming be a mix of British, American, and Canadian programming, flowing seamlessly together in order to further unify Allied troops who would be fighting in Europe and helping to dissuade any rivalries between the nations. After some firm threats to cut out the BBC and turn the entire program over to SHAEF, an agreement was reached and the program was quickly put together. The Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme (AEFP) first hit the airwaves at 5:55 a.m, (Double British Summer Time) on June 7, 1944.

As part of his plan for AEFP, Eisenhower sent a letter to General Henry "Hap" Arnold, the Commanding General of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF), requesting Captain Glenn Miller, his Army Air Forces Band, and his radio production unit be transferred to the United Kingdom. Eisenhower wanted Miller's band to be the American Band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (ABAEF) and a feature of the upcoming AEFP. Miller didn't hesitate. He had been appealing to take his band to England. The opportunity was exactly what he wanted.

Miller flew to England while his 60 plus member organization took the slow route on board the RMS Queen Elizabeth, finally arriving in London in late June 1944. The timing was nearly disastrous. On June 13, German forces began to launch the first of their "retribution" weapons ( Vergeltungswaffen), the V-1 flying bomb. Nicknamed doodlebugs, the V-1 was one-ton bomb built into a winged craft powered by a pulse jet engine. V-1s rained down on an already Blitz destroyed London for months in 1944. Miller quickly tired of the threat and moved his band 50 miles north to Bedford on July 2. The next day, a V-1 landed in the street in front of the quarters the band had vacated and destroyed the building, killing over 60 American servicemen. But Miller's band was safe, and they were about to get very busy.

Out of harm's way, Miller's newly designated American Band of the AEF (the band was often still referred to as the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band) started on a grueling schedule. The full 50 member band traveled to London weekly to record broadcasts for the AEFP and BBC. In addition, smaller dance and jazz bands within the larger orchestra recorded additional programs in Bedford. These programs brought the band to the attention of the British public, who quickly became avid listeners and huge fans.

Miller conducts the band during a concert in England. US Air Force photograph.

On top of their heavy recording schedule, the band toured England, performing at Army Air Forces air bases around the country where they were met with wild cheering and great enthusiasm. Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle, Commanding Officer, Eighth Air Force, said of the band, "Next to a letter from home, Capt. Miller, your organization is the greatest morale booster in the ETO." With the band's continuing success, Miller was promoted to Major, receiving official word of the promotion in August 1944.

The late summer and early fall of 1944 was a busy time of collaboration for the ABAEF. Artists such as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore had arrived in England and began to record with the band. Shore and the band even recorded at the HMV Abbey Road Studios, not yet made famous. Celebrities like Bing were also in England to record a propaganda program, run by an overseas branch of the Office of War Information, the American Broadcast Station in Europe. The program, called "The Wehrmacht Hour," was hosted in German by Ilse Weinberger. Guests such as Miller would attempt to participate in a German language exchange with Isle during the show. Miller's premier vocalist, Johnny Desmond even sang some of the band's popular songs in German. The program was a hit in Germany, listened to by both military personnel and civilians.

Paris fell to the Allies in August, and Miller was eager to get to the continent where he could play for GIs on leave in the city. But the AEFP and BBC didn't want to let him go. They relied heavily upon constant recordings from his band to fill their programming, and the logistics of recording in Paris and returning the recordings to London were complicated. To gain their approval, Miller agreed to a brutal recording schedule. From November 20 to December 12, the ABAEF recorded an astounding 84 hours of programming. He was cleared to go, and the announcement was made-Glenn Miller was headed to Paris.

With a Christmas Day performance scheduled, Miller was eager to get to Paris. There had been difficulty coordinating lodgings and other spaces required for his more than 60 member organization, and he was ordered to Paris himself to finish the work. Again, Miller faced difficulty. The weather was terrible-cold and foggy. Regular transportation flights were canceled, and Miller was getting antsy. The band was scheduled to fly to Paris on December 16, and Miller had to arrive before to firm up their plans.

Celebrities, like Miller, were required to have all air transportation formally approved, but Miller was too focused on the task at hand to worry about military bureaucracy. When he ran into his friend Lieutenant Colonel Norman Baessell, who offered Miller a seat on a flight to Paris on December 15, he didn't hesitate to accept. Inclement weather continued on the 15th, but when a UC-64A Norseman landed at Twinwood Farm Airfield just before 2 p.m., Miller and Baessell boarded the plane. Piloted by Flight Officer John R. Stuart Morgan, the transport plane had to be flown below the cloud cover, anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 feet. It was not an ideal day for a flight, and Miller and Baessell were not officially recorded on any manifests.

A Norseman, similar to the one Miller and Baessell boarded at Twinwood Farm Airfield. US Air Force photograph.

On December 18, the band finally arrived in Paris. Landing at the Orly airport, the band was quickly confused and concerned when Miller was not there to meet them. SHAEF was contacted to locate him, but they were unaware he had flown to Paris. Investigation led to a Missing Air Crew Report, filed on the 18. It was for a missing Norseman, flown by Flight Officer Morgan. Since Baessell and Miller had taken the flight without clearing any of the proper channels, they were not listed on the report. Miller's administrative officer, Lieutenant Don Haynes, had driven the pair to the airfield and realized the horrific truth: Miller and Baessell were missing.

Over the decades, many theories came about as to what happened to Major Glenn Miller, from the likely-mechanical failure, to the outrageous-that Miller had died in a brothel in Paris and the flight was a cover-up. In the 1980s a former Royal Air Force member claimed that he saw a jettisoned bomb from a returning bombing run hit a Norseman over the Channel and destroy it. That theory, like the rest, was eventually debunked. The most realistic cause for the aircraft's disappearance is mechanical failure. The Norseman had a carburetor that was known to freeze over, and in the cold December weather, that was a dangerous reality. Even if the plane had landed in the Channel, the passengers would have had little chance of survival in the frigid water.

The band was scheduled to perform on Christmas Day, but no official word had gone out about Miller's disappearance. Pre-recorded programs were still being played, and outside of the band and SHAEF, few knew he was gone. On Christmas Eve 1944, the world learned that Major Glenn Miller was missing in action. The band's mission was too important to stop, even with the loss of their beloved leader. And so they played on.

By the time the Army Air Forces Band returned to the United States in August 1945, they had made over 300 personal appearances and played for more than 1,250,000 military personnel in Europe. Millions on both sides of the fight had had their spirits lifted by the music of Glenn Miller. The orchestra was disbanded in November 1945. The war was over, the men free to return to civilian life. Swing was on its way out, but the music of Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Band still delights audiences and listeners today, 75 years after his disappearance.

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Major Glenn Miller: The Loss of an Icon | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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"We didn't come here to set any fashions in music. We merely came to bring a much-needed touch of home to some lads who have been here a couple of years." - Glenn Miller