News Recordings 1943

By the beginning of 1943, War news begins to feel normal. The enemies of the United Nations are far from beaten. The three campaigns gaining the most attention at the beginning of the year are the North African Campaign, The Siege of Stalingrad and Guadalcanal.

The Battle of Leningrad ends on Feb 2, and the six month Guadalcanal campaign on Feb 9.

On the home front, we hear Harold Peary drop out of character at the end of the Feb 7 episode of The Great Gildersleeve to announce that shoes are going to be subject to rationing.

US Forces in North Africa faced defeat during their early days in North Africa. This would be only a temporary setback, as Axis forces in North Africa would surrender in May.

Not heard on radio sets at home, our collection includes a selection of V-Discs. Popular musicians cut the recordings to be placed in the "Buddy Kits" of units deploying overseas. Since the sessions were voluntary, the artists were not restricted by their record label's marketing policy. Thus, sessions are sometimes the best and most artistically creative recordings  of the artists' career.

On the April 11 edition of War Telescope,  we hear of a Week of Allied victories after reviewing how far the War had progressed in the last year. On the 18th, Gabriel Heatter reports, among other things, that Rommel left the Afrika Korps to establish a defense in Sicily. The BBC would report on the Axis surrender in North Africa on May 7, and we will hear reports of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto on May 15.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses a joint session of the US Congress on May 19. CBS's Suspense broadcasts "Sorry, Wrong Number" for the first time on May 25.

On July 3, Bob Hope is a special guest on War Telescope from London. The Invasion of Sicily Begins on July 10, and on July 25, Benito Mussolini, Il Duce, is ousted from power.

On August 12, Capt. Clark Gable appears in a special broadcast from London discussing aerial gunnery. Gable joined the Army after his wife, Carole Lombard, was killed when returning from a War Bond drive, Hollywood's first casualty of the War.

The Invasion of Italy began on September 3, and the Italian Surrender is announced on Sept 9. On October 13, a newly formed Italian government sides with the Allies and declares War on Nazi Germany.

As the year draws to a close, there is increasing speculation that the War could be over by spring, although it is tempered with the knowledge that there is still a long and costly struggle yet to go.

In one of the bravest acts of reporting in the War, Edward R. Murrow joins an American bomber crew on a raid over Berlin.

Pistol Packin' Mama" leads the Dec 18 Your Hit Parade.

On Christmas Eve, Bob Hope performs from the Front Lines in a star packed salute to the troops from NBC.