Recollections
of Joe Geczi
While awaiting transfer back to my
former combat unit, I heard some
exciting news that a musical show director, a Sgt. Sidney Mills of the
Mills Music Publishers of New York City, was organizing a traveling
show unit (Special Services) to function as an entertainment unit for
the troops in France, very often close to the battle area. He was
in the process of formulating the unit and was soliciting talent and
screening applicants. He was interested in people with musical or
entertainment backgrounds. I was accepted after “finding a violin
and playing Czardas by Monti and joined the outfit. Being a
member of this unit, without the least bit of doubt, had given me a new
lease on life, because returning to the 9th Infantry Regiment would
have finished me off.
Joe poses beside the
Laughs, Inc. bus in Munster, Germany
After
establishing an acceptable program, we began by touring the
defense plants in the vicinity of Birmingham and to, hopefully, build
an acceptable reputation as a fine show and to become worthy of
recognition and eventually to be shipped to France, thereby boosting
the morale of the war-weary troops in the field. We began
rehearsing on August 22, 1944. The shows were always very much in
demand by the GI’s. Our first rehearsals were mini-shows, and
since most of us were former combat veterans there was no resentment.
The following is
in simplified form a sketchy history of “LAUGHS
INC.”, Special Service Platoon #7. Our direct mission as a show
unit, consisting of 24 Enlisted Men and 1 Officer, was to travel to all
the Replacement Depots, under the GFRS, spending an average of two
weeks at each Depot. There we put on as many performances as the
situation allows, usually reporting to Depot Headquarters, we were
booked at all the battalions of the depot, including the forward ones
where troops going directly to their outfits were in dire need of
entertainment.
In the first two
months that we were organized, we played in England,
France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Experiences were many
during these visits to various countries and we performed during air
raids and enemy artillery shelling. Traveling roads at night
subjected us to strafing and on Christmas Night, we narrowly escaped
death when a determined “Jerry” pilot decided to end our tour.
Fortune was with us and his poor piloting enabled us to continue on in
our work. In Belgium and Holland we spent many weeks in cities
that were at the time being victimized by the dreaded V-1 and
V-2. We performed on stages which rattled every 10 minutes from
vibrations caused by passing flying bombs. It made sharp contrast
to musical numbers and pretty songs and funny stories, but at the same
time it made our work more necessary at the moment, so we continued
with renewed vigor.
While staying at
these depots for two weeks, we played many
performances that we called “outside engagements”. Usually played
on our evenings off, or on mornings and afternoons when we were not
scheduled, we booked ourselves for units who were not under the GFRS
command. Anxious to entertain as many soldiers as possible,
realizing as we did, because of the fact that we had been in combat,
and understanding how very much they needed entertainment. We
played for infantry divisions who were only a mile or two behind the
lines in a “rest” area. On one occasion we played for an infantry
regiment who had just been on the lines the day before. It was
the most gratifying reception we ever had and we knew when we played
and sang and told jokes for those tired, weary-looking men, that they
appreciated every minute of it and they proved it by wild cheering and
applauding and hearty laughter throughout the show.
On many
afternoons we split our show into two groups, a small band
combination accompanying the acts and went to stations and general
hospitals and performed for the wounded. Many the time we gave as
many as 20-22 ward shows, each one lasting 40 minutes, and then
at night played our entire show in the hospital theatre for the staff
and ambulatory patients.
Our audiences
were anywhere from 200 to 2000 and we played for as many
as 4000 men in one night. The running time of our show was from 1
hour and 50 minutes to 2 hours. Our theatres for showing were
varied - from the most luxurious type with full stage, down to
buildings greatly resembling large barns. On one occasion we did
a show in a market square of a little French village - it being the
only available makeshift theatre.
The composition
of our show was one of great variety and we boasted of
having every type of vaudeville act available - singers (crooner &
South American), dancers (comedy, ballet and tap), accordionist,
violinist, magician, singing cowboy, impersonator, roller skater, Hill
Billy combination, Master of Ceremonies, comedian and a thirteen piece
orchestra all blended to give the boys a fast moving, highly
entertaining show, vividly reminiscent of the shows they used to see
back home.
This
information graciously provided by Joe's daughter Mageline E.
(Geczi) Marziotta
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