The White Falcon - 04.02.1983, Qupperneq 4

WHITE FALCON Friday, February 4, 1983
USO 42
years
'young’
Story by J02 Pamela Wier
Photos by PH3 Jeff Wood
The United Service Organizations, per-
haps better known as the USO, is celebra-
ting its 42nd anniversary today.
The USO was formed in 1941 when five
service organizations who were assisting
military personnel, were asked by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to combine their ef-
forts and become one organization.
As a civilian, non-profit agency, the
USO receives no government funding, but re-
lies heavily on such organizations as the
United Way and the Salvation Army, along
with over 40,000 world-wide volunteers, for
its support.
What began 42 years ago as a recreation-
al oriented organization has developed into
a full service agency. Now located in 62
American and 55 overseas locations, the USO
not only strives to meet the recreational
needs of the service member and their fami-
lies, but also to enrich their lives.
By offering a full calendar of events
each month, such as the Tuesday night mov-
ies, the Women's Get-Together, a variety of
tournaments and tours, along with the popu-
lar Friday night fish fry, the Keflavik USO
meets or exceeds its goal each month.
Sandy Miller, director, explains their
objective: "If we do nothing other than get
people out of the barracks, then we have
succeeded." According to Sandy, the harsh
weather often encourages people to stay in-
doors, but knowing they can find a friendly
atmosphere and good food at the USO quite
often brings them out. "Some people think
of the USO as their livingroom," she says.
The biggest night for the USO is Friday,
when they offer their popular Friday night
fish fry. Braving long lines and bad
weather people who normally do not go to
the USO for any other reason will still
show up for the fish fry. Sandy thinks a
lot of the USO's Friday night popularity
and other nights as well is because: "We
are an alternative to the clubs. The USO
is a place where you can bring the whole
family and enjoy a non-alcoholic atmo-
sphere."
Located in the same building since they
began here almost 11 years ago, the USO has
witnessed the NATO Base change and grow,
But the most important change will be
taking place this April when they will
closed for approximately two months for re-
novation. The work, consisting mainly
of installing geothermal heating, a 10-foot
drop celing and a new stage, will be done
by contractors.
Even with the majority of the work con-
tracted out, the USO will still need volun-
teer help. According to Sandy, "We get a
lot of our work done by volunteers and some
volunteer help will be needed to reopen...
we couldn't function without volunteers."
The USO, long associated with volun-
teers and entertainers such as Bob Hope,
has projected a certain image to the pub-
lic, through movies and television, such
as "Hollywood Canteen," "Key Largo," "Hap-
py Days1' and "M*A*S*H." That image is one
of free coffee and donuts along with the
traditional USO shows. The USO has grown
and developed from that image, but Sandy
says, "We still have the free coffee...but
we also have so much more."
TOP...Getting ready for the fish fry crowd
Bill Harden hand batters large amounts of
Ysa. LEFT... Everyone is needed to pitch-
in when things get busy, USO director San-
dy Miller lends a hand at the pick-up win-
dow. RIGHT... The deep fryers never get a
chance to stop cooking on Fridays as Jim
Adams as the fry cook knows all too well.
BOTTOM... The USO offers enjoyment for the
whole family, along with puzzles, board
games and cards are available from behind
4 the snack bar.