American Armed Forces Radio No 3

The American Armed Forces Radio Service was a worldwide outfit, bringing a taste of home to G.I.s serving overseas. History and collectors remember the Armed Forces Radio Service as a morale-raising effort, but at its heart, AFRS was a military organization.

One of the “tools” on each AFRS Unit’s TOE (“Table of Equipment”) would have been a Basic Music Library, a series of discs filled with popular music that the local DJ could use to fill the air time when necessary. The Basic Music Collection featured a variety of tunes to appeal to as many servicemen as possible.

The American Forces Network can trace its origins to 26 May 1942, when the War Department established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). A television service was first introduced in 1954 with a pilot station at Limestone Air Force Base, Maine. In 1954, the television mission of AFRS was officially recognized and AFRS became AFRTS (Armed Forces Radio and Television Service).

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.