Trace is about to embark on a trip to the Persian Gulf to visit U.S. troops as part of a tour sponsored by the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment. CMT says his previous USO tour of the Persian Gulf took place in 2002, and he also headlined the entertainment at the USO World Gala in Washington, D.C. He was awarded the USO Merit Award in 2007. Trace is continuing the tradition of some of our most beloved country music greats.
In the early 1940s, Gene Autry served his country flying C-47 cargo planes in the China-Burma-India Theater. When the war ended, "the singing cowboy" toured in the Pacific with a USO troupe, thus beginning the long-standing tradition of country artists traveling on USO tours overseas to boost troop morale.
In 1949, in partnership with the Grand Ole Opry, Red Foley, Roy Acuff, Minnie Pearl, Rod Brasfield, Little Jimmy Dickens, Hank Williams and others toured U.S. military bases in England, Germany and the Azores.
The USO sent Patsy Cline and Jerry Reed to Hawaii in 1960 to perform and shake hands with military personnel. Red Foley and Roy Acuff accompanied Bob Hope on USO overseas tours in 1961. Acuff toured again in 1962, traveling to the Eastern Mediterranean region for eight weeks, while modern country singer Johnny Cash went to the Pacific for three weeks.
During the Vietnam War, Roy Acuff and the Grand Ole Opry stars visited Vietnam and Thailand from 1967 to 1970. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans also toured in Vietnam.
