''GI Jive'' was a 15-minute radio program transmitted by the

Armed Forces Radio Service The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which ...

for entertainment of soldiers in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Its initial frequency of five days per week later increased to six days per week.Mackenzie, Harry (1999). ''The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series''. Greenwood Press. It was included in the group of "programs proposed for production on the AFRS's initial schedule". ''GI Jive'' differed from AFRS programs like '' Command Performance'' and ''

Mail Call ''Mail Call'' is a television program that aired on the History Channel. It was hosted by R. Lee Ermey, a retired United States Marine Corps staff sergeant and honorary gunnery sergeant. The show debuted on August 4, 2002 as part of the "Fightin ...

'' in that it used a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

format, with someone playing popular recordings of the day. In contrast, '' Command Performance'' and ''

'' broadcast live performances by popular entertainers.Bivins, Tom. ''World War II on the Radio''. J387:Communication History document. University of Oregon. ''GI Jive'' initially featured a guest DJ for each broadcast; some were civilian celebrities, while others were servicemen. In May 1943, however, the format changed to having one regular host, Martha Wilkerson, who was known on the air as "

GI Jill GI Jill (born Martha Wilkerson, 4 May 1918 — 1999) was an American disc jockey and host of ''GI Jive'', a music program on the Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. She was notable for her positive effect of her personality and music se ...

". Patrick Worley, in ''This Is the American Forces Network'', called Wilkerson "probably the most popular performer on AFRS, and certainly the one who made the biggest impact on the troops' morale."Morley, Patrick (2001). ''This Is the American Forces Network: The Anglo-American Battle of the Air Waves in World War II''. Praeger Publishers. He summarized her appeal as follows:

It was a simple formula -- a collection of record requests, some cheerful banter from GI Jill, and occasional interviews with celebrities such as
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
and
Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
. It was the personality of Jill that made the program. She had a distinctive, charmingly reedy voice, and she was, to quote one listener, "warm, affectionate, intimate. Perfect for homesick servicemen far from home". To the GI she ''was'' the girl back home, and she had a nice homely touch.

He added:

The effect she had on her listeners is summed up in this letter from a
sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
in the Pacific: "Your cheerful voice does wonders to our morale.
Tokyo Rose Tokyo Rose (alternative spelling Tokio Rose) was a name given by Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II to all female English-speaking radio broadcasters of Japanese propaganda. The programs were broadcast in the South Pacific ...
is also on the air. It's as if two women of enemy countries were battling for men's minds. I'm glad you're winning, Jill." She was sometimes referred to as America's answer to Tokyo Rose and
Axis Sally Axis Sally was the generic nickname given to women radio personalities who broadcast English-language propaganda on behalf of the European Axis Powers during World War II. These included: * Mildred Gillars, a German-American who broadcast for Ge ...
, but unlike those two ladies there was never any hint of
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
in any of her programs.

Wilkerson's personal touch extended to replying to mail from soldiers. The ''GI Jive'' entry in ''The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series'' noted, "She attempted to answer each letter sent in and included a picture of herself." In 1945, it was reported that Martha Wilkerson could boast of receiving one-fourth of all the fan mail inspired by the Armed Forces Radio Service's 122 air shows. Wilkerson's usual closing line was "Good morning to some of you, good afternoon to some more of you, and to the rest of you — ''good night''." The total number of ''GI Jive'' programs broadcast appears to be unavailable, but one reference book lists "Prog. 2322" as the highest number in a sampling of content of different episodes. Therefore, it seems safe to say that the number of episodes ran well into the thousands. As of 2022 ''GI Jive'' can still be heard, as it is repeated nightly on the UK 1940s radio station.

References

{{Reflist

External links

85 streaming episodes of ''GI Jive'' are available for listening online.

''G.I. Jill''

''G.I. Jive'' (Includes links to streaming episodes of that show for listening online. Some episodes of ''Mail Call'' are also available.)
1940s American radio programs American Forces Network radio programs Radio during World War II