Gypsy Rose Lee

On July 2, 1969 I arrived in Korea and about a week later I was in Camp Ross, a military compound near the DMZ.  I was to stay there for 14 months serving in the Army.  Occasionally, we had USO shows visit us for entertainment in an isolated area.  I was only there about a month when I attended my first USO show with Gypsy Rose Lee.  The Army had set up an outdoor stage area with bleachers for her visit.  We really didn't have a large indoor facility to use.  Certainly she was the most famous USO visitor we had at our compound while I was there, and she delivered a great show for about an hour and then hung around with us for about another hour.  If I recall correctly she was on her back from Vietnam, where she was also entertaining the troops.  We had an opportunity to visit and talk with her for a while.  Unfortunately, I did not have a camera at that time and did not get my picture taken with her.  We always looked forward to every USO show that came for a visit. 

I didn't know until now (May 5, 2023) that she was buried in the same cemetery (Inglewood Cemetery, California) as my wife's grandparents. 

For more info on Gypsy Rose Lee click HERE

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Gypsy Rose Lee - 1956 - age 45