Outdoor deck at the USO facility, McCrady Training Center, Leesburg Road
For many Americans, especially older ones, USO means Bob Hope TV specials with singers, jokes, pretty girls, and hundreds of members of the U.S. military screaming with excitement. While these TV specials were once regular events, I can’t remember the last time I saw anything involving the USO on television.
I got the opportunity to visit the area USO facility at McCrady Training Center way out Leesburg Road recently. Katie Kennedy was my host, but Bob Hope was nowhere to be found. I did find myself unable to speak due to a gigantic lump in my throat early in my visit. I was there to interview Kennedy. She insisted we take a short tour first.
We were standing in this smallish room when I began experiencing composure problems. Pictures on each wall conveyed differing themes—wild animals, the planets, and pink ponies hung above scattered bookcases filled with children’s books. Then I saw the video camera on a tripod, and it hit me.
I was far away from Bob Hope’s exuberant TV shows as Kennedy explained that this room was there so members of our military, those separated from loved ones for long periods of time, could record themselves reading to their children from miles and hours away. For as long as I live, I’ll connect bedtime stories to defending this nation’s freedom.
Katie Kennedy (l) enjoys spending time with the troops. Photo contributed by Joanie Thresher
I had noticed the outdoor complex on arrival—a giant covered space with grills, tables, and cornhole game equipment. Our first tour stop had been the auditorium, where rows and rows of leather recliners, complete with drink holders, were arranged where theatre seating usually is and a big screen television and lots of DVDs were positioned. There was a pool table and video game paraphernalia behind the rows of chairs.
The large interview room where we talked serves as a break room of sorts under regular circ*mstances. Tables with four or five chairs allowed tired or stressed soldiers to sit down, cool off, and replenish body, mind, and spirit. There were even card tables. Kennedy mentioned this space was an aluminum roof over a concrete slab when the facility first opened 13 years ago.
Those things spoke to what many of us think about where the military is involved. Young soldiers trying to survive the craziness of training in order to be prepared to protect this country if needed. But reading bedtime stories? Sergeant Rock and Johne Wayne didn’t experience that.
The USO was organized in 1941 during the time the United States was entering World War II. Since then, the USO has been the nation’s leading organization to serve the men and women in the U.S. military, and their families, throughout their time in uniform. From the moment they join, through their assignments and deployments, and as they transition back to their communities, the USO is always by their side.
Kennedy is a Columbia native who graduated from the University of South Carolina about 13 years ago and was heading to Disney World that fall. She had served an internship in Illinois and was home and free for the summer.
She decided to volunteer with the USO for the summer and “fell in love with the mission and what we’re so privileged to do every day—everything associated with that organization.” She went to Walt Disney World, finished her internship there, and came back to the USO, and is still there, “almost 13 years now.”
Kennedy grew up in the Midlands near Fort Jackson and was always familiar with things the USO did to provide members of the military “with a little smile.”
She says, “It seemed like a great way to donate my time.”
The Columbia version of the USO operates out of two locations—the facility at McCrady Training Center and another location at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. In 2023, this very busy local chapter, which covers the entire state, provided over 250,000 service instances—“touchpoints where we made a difference to service members.”
These touchpoints include National Guard Soldiers arriving at McCrady Training Center for basic training and those newly arriving soldiers coming through the local airport on their way to Fort Jackson, as well as any other local facility.
Programs like spouse specific outreach programs, mentoring and educational programs, the reading programs mentioned earlier, and other more spontaneous events around the state serviced by Mobile USO, allows the USO to be involved with anyone in the active military, including the National Guard that is connected to South Carolina military. In addition, Worldwide USO guarantees a link to those military members as they travel to locations anywhere in the world. There are over 250 USO locations in the world.
Kennedy describes what the USO did for one particular unit, “While they were here on a hot, July summer day, we surprised them with popsicles and oranges, which offered a moral boost. When they got to their next station, USO provided care packages with toiletries and other supplies. When they got to their final destination in the African Command, they were able to visit the USO center there for movies, fried Oreos, and other comforts. We were with them every step of the way.”
USO is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is fully funded by outside donations. To volunteer or donate, drop by the USO Facebook account or visit southcarolina.uso.org.
