Following the attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, many of America’s men and women dropped what they were doing and enlisted into military service. They were from all walks of life and backgrounds – single, married, family men and women. There were also the celebrities, from Hollywood movie stars, to politicians, to musicians. Among those who signed up to serve the country were Jimmy Stewart, James Arness, Peter Graves, Clark Gable, to name a few. One of the celebrity musicians to join the war effort was a Coloradan, Glenn Miller.
In 1941, The Glenn Miller Orchestra was America’s most popular band. On Feb. 10, 1942, following Miller’s weekly Chesterfield radiobroadcast; RCA Victor Productions presented Miller with the band’s first gold record for Chattanooga Choo-Choo. At this high point in his civilian career, Miller left it all behind for the war effort.
This photo of Glenn Miller was taken as he departed for England during World War II,
At age 38, Miller was too old for the draft, so he volunteered his services to the Navy. Unfortunately, the Navy stated they could not use his services. Undaunted, Miller wrote to Army Brig. Gen. Charles Young. Later, Young would say the U.S. Army proudly accepted Miller to “…put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men and a little more joy into their hearts,” and he was placed in charge of a modernized army band.
Miller joined the Army Air Corps as a captain in October 1942. Stationed at the Maxwell Field Army Air Forces Southeast Training Center at Montgomery, Ala., he served as assistant special services officer. His services included promoting the activities of both the military and civilian efforts in Montgomery. Miller played trombone with the Rhythmaires, a local 15-piece dance band, and also played in service clubs and recreation halls on the base at Maxwell. As part of his special service duties, Miller also appeared on both local radio stations WAPI and WSFA promoting the local military base activities, including the activities of civil service women aircraft mechanics employed at Maxwell.
Miller’s radio appearances were also a great tool for morale-building. By March 1943, Miller had been transferred to an Army base in New York, where he could bring his radio broadcast to a national audience. Here, he created and directed his own band, selecting servicemen who had belonged to the best bands in the United States to assemble a 50-piece band; the 418th Army Air Force Band at Yale University. This would be the forerunner to the Airmen of Note, still in existence today. The combined musical and military precision Miller used in creating the band led many to claim it was Miller’s best effort and even better than his civilian band. On the military post, their duties included reveille, taps, march, retreat, and entertainment. Off-post, the band’s radio broadcasts dubbed “I Sustain the Wings,” raised millions of dollars in War Bond drives.
A promotional photo of Miller at his musical best. Photos courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History Department
Through these radio broadcasts, attracting Air Corps recruits and boosting morale, Miller was given military permission to take his Army Air Force Band to England in the summer of 1944. His distinguished military band with their smart sound were attached to the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in London, and were soon stationed at the Milton Ernest base near Bedford, England.
London was in the middle of what was called “Buzz Bomb Alley.” By the summer of 1944, the German warplanes were constantly dropping V-1 bombs over the city. Miller and the band members were staying at 25 Sloane Court in the heart of London and under the barrage of bombs. Miller arranged for new quarters and moved to the Bedford base on Sunday, July 2, 1944. The following morning, a dropped bomb landed in front of their old flat. The building exploded and more than 100 people were killed.
Continuing his “Wings” radio broadcast and military performances, Miller would give more than 800 performances and entertain more than 1 million troops in his brief European duty. His Allied Expeditionary Forces Band spent many 18-hour days recording and performing. Miller’s dedication was recognized when he was promoted to major on July 24, 1944. Miller recorded a series of records at the HMV recording studios in England, later known as the famous Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles would later record. These recordings made by Miller and the band were largely propaganda broadcasts for the Office of War Information. Johnny Desmond sang a few of the songs in German and even Miller speaks in German about the war effort. Still other songs were recorded in English with singer Dinah Shore. These were the last recorded songs made by the band while being led by Miller.
Among his many duties, one was an honor for Miller. On Aug. 25, 1944, he christened a new B-17G bomber, which was named after his famous song, “Moonlight Serenade” in Knettishall, England. Three weeks later, on Sept. 5, 1944, the aircraft was shot down.
On an unusually foggy morning of Dec. 15, 1944, Miller arrived at Twinwood Farm Royal Air Force Base for a scheduled flight to Paris to perform for the soldiers who had liberated that city. Discussing the weather, Miller told band manager Lt. Don Haynes, “As long as the Miller Luck stays with us, we have nothing to worry about.” Lt. Haynes was the last person to see Miller alive. Flight Officer John Morgan piloted the Norseman UC-64 with Miller and Lt. Col. Norman F. Baessell aboard. The plane disappeared while flying over the English Channel. No trace of the aircrew, passengers or plane has ever been found.
Gen. James Doolittle summarized Miller’s military career: “Next to a letter from home, that organization was the greatest morale builder in the European Theater of Operations.” While considered the father of modern military music, Miller, the boy from Colorado, should also be remembered as an American patriot.
