| Remembering Jackie's USO trips |
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Gary Fletcher |
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"I have a photo of Jackie DeShannon, myself and another soldier from 1966 in Vietnam when she had finished doing a small USO show and we were her body guards as she was waiting for an airplane ride in the Mekong Delta. I am the one on the left as you look at the photo (with rifle). This is one of my prize photo memories. Please tell her how much she was appreciated when she came to that dangerous place for those of us who were there. She may remember that in those days, our troops were not as much appreciated as they are, and should be, today." |
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Pat Matheny |
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"Sometime in 1965, I saw you and Eddie Fisher perform together at a little place called Phu Loi, 30 miles north of Saigon. I was a Crew Chief on a Huey (Blue Thunderbird 7) with the 118th Aviation Co (AML) stationed at Bien Hoa. While on missions we happened to land at Phu Loi and catch you and Eddie performing together with a little combo. I remember you both singing together the "Do-Re-Mi" song.
My favorite song of yours has always been "When you walk in the room". I always wanted to thank the both of you for your performances for the troops in such adverse conditions. As an eighteen year old kid, I really appreciated it."
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Jackie's USO Certificate for Vietnam and Alaska trips |
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Bob Sadler |
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I was on an airbase in 1966 in Vinh Long, Vietnam when Jackie sang "What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love". As she sang, mortars started going off. She flinched and ducked, but never missed a note and held her poise." |
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Jim Salvas |
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"I just got around to scanning some photos I took in Vietnam in 1966 and found this one of Jackie. Meeting Jackie and having her pose for this photos is an indelible memory. Please use the photo any way you might like. And, thanks again for brightening some dark days in Vietnam for us who were there." |
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John Horn |
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"In late 1965 you were in Vietnam on a USO tour. During that tour, you and Eddie Fisher visited and performed for the crew of the USS Newell (DER 322) which was operating off the coast of Vietnam in the Market Time Patrol. The ship had been deployed for over 6 months and would be gone for Christmas. As a result, your visit was very well received by the officers and crew." |
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Milwaukee Journal, Feb. 3, 1967 |
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"The show site had been cleared of brush and trees a week before, ostensibly for the building of a ball field. All told there were 7,000 men in the audience at Bien Hoa." "It really turned out to be an all-star show. A helicopter landed near the site and out stepped Martha Raye, Eddie Fisher and his pianist Eddie Samuels, folk singer Jackie DeShannon and my old dancing pupil, John Bubbles."
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