Joseph R. Davis of Whitestone, Long Island: “I
issued girdles to WACS (during World War II)”
The Women’s Army Corps was the female
branch of the US Army at a time when society might not have been completely
ready for women in military roles, hence the reduction of their contribution to
silly jokes like this one. Popular
culture of the 1950s was full of similar examples. The WAC remained a separate and distinct part
of the US Army until 1978, when it was disbanded and its personnel integrated
with male servicemen.
Father Robert Greene of Indiana: “I was a prisoner
of the Chinese Reds”
Father Greene served as a missionary
in China during WWII and beyond. When
Communist forces took over in 1950, Father Greene was first subject to house
arrest inside his mission, and later jailed and tortured, before being banished
from China in 1952. He is the author of Calvary in China, which Garry promotes at the end of the segment.
Special Guest Charles Coburn: “I’m going to
squirt the panel with a water pistol”
Coburn was frequently
recognized for his trademark monocle.
The Georgia-born actor’s career of dignified supporting roles, mostly in
comedies, gave audiences the mistaken belief he was English. His sophistication on screen what made his
whimsical Secret amusing to the studio audience. He won an Oscar for The More the Merrier
(1943) and appears on this show to promote
Trouble Along the Way (1953).
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