Photo of the Day

The soundtrack of the war.

By 1939, Glenn Miller had become an American sensation.

Left: Poster for a 1939 Baltimore appearance. Right: Miller receives an award for "Chatanooga Choo Choo," the nation's first gold record, with sales exceeding 500,000, 1942.

Just about everybody recognized the sound of his trombone when they heard his theme song, “Moonlight Serenade.”

Miller’s band played in ballrooms all across the country and played live on the radio.

His records were best-sellers and he and his band were featured in two Hollywood movies.

It was a time when couples held each other while they danced.

In a troubled time, Miller’s songs were perfect.

General Eisenhower wanted to bring Miller’s music to Allied troops as they made their way across France and into Nazi Germany.

It would be a tough fight.

And Eisenhower knew Miller’s music would be a connection back home for the troops and boost their morale.

A recording session.

So, Eisenhower arranged for Miller and his band to be transferred to England to play concerts at American bases and play on armed forces radio.

England 1944.

Miller’s first concert in England took place eighty years ago last night.

They stood on a makeshift stage in an aircraft hangar at Thurleigh, an RAF airfield then used by the US 306th Bomber Group .

3,500 people jammed in so tight that some had to sit on airplane wings.

Once Paris was liberated in late August 1944, Miller sought permission to relocate there.

That permission finally came in mid-December 1944.

So, Miller took an unscheduled flight to Paris in a small plane, intending to make logistical arrangements.

But his plane disappeared over the Channel.

The band plays in France without Miller, May 1945.

It took several days for people to figure out that Miller had taken an unscheduled flight which had been reported as missing.

The news of Miller’s disappearance finally broke on Christmas Day 1944.

New York Times.

While conspiracy stories about Miller’s disappearance flourished for decades, most people now believe that his small plane suffered engine trouble and went down in the Channel.

An aircraft similar to the one in which Miller was lost.

It had been a cold day and the plane’s carburetor had a history of freezing up in cold weather.

Alton Glen ["Glenn"] Miller [1904-1945].

It was another tough loss for the Greatest Generation whose grandchildren would dance to disco.

******************************

I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Brenda