Jeep Show in the Media
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Media Materials
Outrageous History Podcast On the History That Inspired Jeep Show
Host Ernest Granson and Bob O’Connor discuss the real-life outrageous history of Mickey Rooney volunteering for the draft in WWII: “Mickey Rooney certainly did his service.”
“He’s a fascinating character. He was the leading box office star in America in 1939 – can you imagine the leading box office star now joining the army and doing simple entertainment for frontline soliders? I’d like to think it would happen. Rooney was considered an absolute genius by directors he worked with and other actors. In his personal life, he was absolutely off the rails …
“To his credit, he could have served in Hollywood … Rooney chose to be in the European theatre of operations. He did many things but the thing that interested me the most was he was the leader of a Jeep show squad. They and one other enlisted performer would drive to just behind the front lines and do these – in the book, Mickey calls them the ‘K-Ration’ version of a variety show.”
Jeep Show On 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories and Mysteries
Host Jon Hagadorn and Bob O’Connor discuss classic Hollywood stories behind the book
Jon: “Even current-day shows like SNL could really benefit by going back to some of the great acts that came out of vaudeville, like the great acts that were used in the Jeep shows. They could really spice up that show just using acts that are 80 years old but still make you hold your sides.”
Bob: “The basics never changes. Details change but the basics of what is funny never changes.”
Read Beat … and Repeat On Hitler’s “Reckless Gamble”
Host Steve Tartar and Bob O’Connor also delve into how WWII’s Ardennes Offensive became known as the Battle of the Bulge
“After the initial surprise, many American troops stopped and fought brilliantly and stubbornly. Even though many of them were eventually overrun, they threw the Germans off their timetable by several days … And, you know, it probably shortened the war by six or seven months … It is the largest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army. The defence of Bastogne was an immediate legend.”
Jeep Show Meets The Veterans Breakfast Club Greatest Generation Roundtable on the Battle of the Bulge
Host Glenn Flickinger and a panel including Bob O’Connor commemorate the 80th anniversary of the decisive battle
Bob was honoured to join Veterans Breakfast Club for the Greatest Generation Roundtable on the Battle of the Bulge. The panel and guests including veterans of the conflict offered a wealth of little-known details and insight about the last major German offensive on the Western Front of WWII.
Sacred Gyre Podcast Features A Wide-Ranging Discussion on History, Morale and the Work Behind the Book
Host Emily Newberry goes in-depth into the research and history behind Jeep Show
Emily: “After I read your book and then went on to your website, I think I counted about 30 books, articles and videos that you used as research and I’m just wondering, what does that say about you as a person and a writer?”
Bob: “One thing it says about me as a writer is doing too much research is a great way to procrastinate, if you’re curious – and I am curious – because research is fun and writing is hard.”

What’s The Scuttlebutt Podcast: “A Masterclass On How To Take Historical Content And Make It Such A Good Read”
Hosts Don Abernathy and Dennis Blocker talk “M1 Thumb” and other easter eggs
“There were three pieces of equipment that I just became obsessed about … One of the things they tell would-be novelists is don’t do too much research before you write your first draft because a lot of what you learn will end up being edited out. I did not follow that advice because it’s just so fascinating … So I probably added an extra two years onto the writing process.”

Veterans Radio Podcast: “I Couldn’t Put It Down”
Robert O’Connor explains what a Jeep show is to host Dale Throneberry
“The Army in World War II went to great lengths to try to make sure that the troops did not get bored and perhaps do things that the Army wouldn’t approve of … The soldiers on the front lines, though, never saw the big USO shows and never got many of the things that were easier to do in the rear echelon. Jeep shows were organized in late 1943, early 1944, to get entertainment to these frontline combat infantrymen.
“The way it worked is three of these enlisted entertainers would get in a Jeep with a driver and they would drive just behind the front lines where the front line combat troops may have been brought back for a hot meal, maybe a shower.
“Unlike pilots who might do a certain number of combat missions and then be rotated back to the States, when you were in an infantry division the only way out was to be badly wounded or captured or killed … Nothing beats mail from home, but the next best thing is to get some entertainers to physically be present up at the front. And so that is how Jeep shows came about.”