Marilyn´s korea trip
I think Marilyn was genuinly happy during her USO tour and I think that´s one of the reasons why I love photographs from Korea so much. Every picture taken from the trip, she´s smiling. It seemes like she had a lot of fun there, and I think it´s understandable. Every man there adored her, even if many hadn´t even seen a movie of hers. However, here are some quotes and photos from the trip!
"She gave us the feeling that she wanted to be there. She took her time, speaking with each of us about our lives and our hometowns and our civilian jobs." - Ted Cieszynski, army photographer
"She was almost as courageous as we were because she was wearing a tight cocktail dress and nothing else, and it was freezing cold."
- A soldier on Marilyn
- A soldier on Marilyn
'"I felt I belonged. For the first time in my life I had the feeling that the people seeing me were accepting me and liking me... For the first time I felt like a movie star" - Marilyn
"It was the best thing that ever happend to me. I never felt like a star before in my heart. It was so wonderful to look down and see a fellow smiling at me."
"The movie star was at her glamorous best when she performed ten USO shows in four days for U.S. soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors during the Korean War in early 1954.
I was with a group of Navy guys who happened to be at Daegu Air Force Base when we heard Marilyn would entertain there that night. We convinced our transport pilot to find something wrong with our R4D transport, so we could delay the return flight to our ship in Tokyo Bay for that one night.
It was a great evening for all the homesick guys who were dazzled by the movie star’s performance. The sight and sounds of Marilyn singing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” is a memory I still cherish. " - Ted Sherman
xoxo
Great!