Stage Door Canteen to Benefit Honor Flight
May 21, 2011 2 - 8pm 180th Fighter Wing, 2660 South Eber Rd. Swanton, OH
What is a Stage Door Canteen Event?
The original stage door canteens were run by a volunteer organization (American Theatre Wing) and offered servicemen nights of dancing, entertainment, food and nonalcoholic drinks, and opportunities to rub elbows with celebrities. By November 1945,
Stage Door Canteens were operating in eight U.S. cities and London and Paris. Stage Door Canteens entertained and fed 11 million Allied servicemen. The canteens were described at the time as “the most direct way we can give our pride, our gratitude, and Godspeed to our boys.”
How we are honoring our World War II Veterans
We would like to recreate this experience here in Northwest Ohio for our World War II veterans.
• What: Honor Flight NW Ohio and the 180th Fighter Wing present Stage Door Canteen Facilities of the 180th Fighter Wing of Swanton, Ohio May 21, 2011 (2 p.m. – 8 p.m.)
Host a locally sponsored appreciation event to honor WWII veterans
Who can help?
Honor Flight NW Ohio and the 180th Fighter Wing are building sponsorships and volunteer opportunities for this event. There are several ways you can help. Please consider a Stage Door Canteen donation to Honor Flight NW Ohio, which will help with the costs of staging this event. All additional funds will be used by Honor Flight NW Ohio to sponsor veterans on future Honor Flights.
NW Ohio Stage Door Canteen Notable
• ENTERTAINMENT: 338th Army Band and Manhattan Dancers
are scheduled for the event.
• MEMORIBILIA: Local Willis Jeep enthusiasts, and other vintage equipment will be on hand.
Original Stage Door Canteen Notable
Original Stage Door Canteen Notable
• CELEBRITIES: Bette Davis said volunteering at the Stage Door Canteen was one of the “few accomplishments in my life that I am sincerely proud of.” She even recalled a Christmas Eve that heartthrob crooner Bing Crosby showed up unannounced accompanied by his young sons. The Crosbys sang carols for an hour until “there was not a dry eye in the canteen."
• AHEAD OF ITS TIME: Stage door canteens were open to all servicemen of Allied nations, and segregation had no place in them. A 1943 article in Theatre Arts magazine called the New York canteen “one of the few democratic institutions in existence anywhere.
• FUNDING: Though the canteen served food to the servicemen free of charge, someone had to pay for it. Americans responded generously to appeals for aid. Songwriter Irving Berlin contributed all profits from his hit “I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen.”
In 1942, a sailor produced a message on signal flags as his ship left New York Harbor: “No liquor, but damned good anyway.” A Stage Door Canteen event would be an appropriate and honorable way to salute our local World War II veterans.
Please consider a Stage Door Canteen donation made out to Honor Flight NW Ohio. Seating is limited for the event because our older veterans and their supporting family members are our primary guests.
Glenn Miller $5000 sponsorship level:
•2 passes to the event
•Included on event banner
•Included on event sponsor poles
•Included in event program
•Included on Facebook fan page
•1 ticket to fly as a Guardian on a future Honor Flight to Washington D.C.
•Mentioned as a corporate sponsor of the event on the Fred Lefebvre/Brian Wilson shows - WSPD 1370/affiliates
Tommy Dorsey $2500 sponsorship level:
• Included on event sponsor poles
• Included in the event program
• Included on Facebook fan page
Benny Goodman $1000 sponsorship level:
•Included in event program
•Included on Facebook fan page
Visit Honorflightnwo.org for more information.
Press Release Contact Name: Lee Armstrong
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: Honor Flight Northwest Ohio
Website or Link: Honorflightnwo.org