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American Forces Network
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===World War II=== [[File:Commandrussellwillsonhope.jpg|thumb|[[Bob Hope]] welcomes [[Jane Russell]] to ''[[Command Performance (radio series)|Command Performance]]'' (1944).]] [[File:Sinatra Radio.gif|thumb|[[Frank Sinatra]] interviews actress [[Alida Valli]] for one of the many programs produced by the Armed Forces Radio Service for broadcast to the troops overseas during World War II.]] [[File:Bogart Bacall AFRS.jpg|thumb|[[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[Lauren Bacall]] being interviewed by the Armed Forces Radio Service]] The original AFN - present day AFN Europe - began broadcasting from [[London]] during [[World War II]], using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] (BBC). The first transmission to [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. troops]] began at 5:45 p.m. 4 July 1943, and included less than five hours of recorded shows, including a [[BBC News]] and sports broadcast. That day, [[Technician fifth grade|T5]] Syl Binkin became the first [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] broadcaster heard over the air. The signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional [[transmitter]]s to reach [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. troops]] in the [[United Kingdom]] as they made preparations for the [[Operation Overlord|invasion]] of [[Nazi-occupied Europe]]. Fearing competition for civilian audiences, the [[BBC]] initially tried to impose restrictions on AFN broadcasts within [[United Kingdom|Britain]] (transmissions were allowed only from [[United States|American]] bases outside [[London]] and were limited to 50 watts of transmission power) and a minimum quota of British produced programming had to be carried. Nevertheless, AFN programs were widely enjoyed by the British civilian listeners who could receive them, and once AFN operations transferred to continental [[Europe]] (shortly after [[Normandy landings|D-Day]]) AFN was able to broadcast with little restriction with programs available to civilian audiences across most of [[Europe]], (including Britain), after dark. As [[Normandy landings|D-Day]] approached, the network joined with the [[BBC]] and the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] to develop programs especially for the [[Allied Expeditionary Forces]]. Mobile stations, complete with personnel, broadcasting equipment and a record library, were deployed to broadcast music and news to troops in the field. The mobile stations reported on front-line activities and fed the news reports back to studio locations in [[London]]. Although the network's administrative headquarters remained in [[London]], its operational headquarters soon moved to [[Paris]]. As [[Allied forces (World War II)|Allied forces]] continued to push [[Nazi Germany|German]] troops back into their homeland, AFN moved east as well. The liberation of most of Western Europe saw AFN stations serving the forces liberating [[Biarritz]], [[Cannes]], [[Le Havre]], [[Marseille]], [[Nice]], [[Paris]] and [[Reims]]. During the period between 1943 and 1949 the AFN also broadcast programs developed through a collaboration of the [[Department of State]]'s [[Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs]] and the [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]] network while supporting America's [[cultural diplomacy]] initiatives. Included among the programs was ''[[Viva America]]'' which showcased leading musical talents from both North and South America and was transmitted for the benefit of armed forces throughout [[Europe]] and to [[South America]] over CBS's short wave network "La Cadena de Las Americas".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3WyZ9A4_XEC&q=VIva+America&pg=PA198|title=The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series (Viva America for Spanish speaking servicemen) |last= Mackenzie|first= Harry|publisher= Greenwood Publishing Group|location= Westport CT|year= 1999 |page=21|isbn=9780313308123 }} {{ISBN|0313308128}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ehN4sM0Xy_UC&dq=Alfredo+Antonini+Elsa+Miranda&pg=PA49 |title=Media Sound & Culture in Latin America|last1= Bronfman|first1= Alejanda |last2= Wood|first2= Andrew Grant|publisher= University of Pittsburgh Press|location= Pittsburgh, PA|year= 2012 |page= 49|isbn=9780822977957 }} {{ISBN|978-0822961871}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Anthony|first=Edwin D.|title=Records of the Office of Inter-American Affairs|volume=Inventory of Record Group 229|publisher=National Archives and Record Services β General Services Administration|location=Washington D.C.|year=1973|pages=25β26|lccn=73-600146 <!-- dead -->|chapter-url=https://www.archives.gov/files/research/foreign-policy/related-records/rg-229-inter-american-affairs.pdf#page=33|chapter=Records of the Radio Division}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Qx00pQIkclMC&q=ociaa&pg=PA166 ''Dissonant Divas in Chicana Music: The Limits of La Onda'' Deborah R. Vargas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2012 pp. 152β155] {{ISBN|978-0816673162}} OCIAA (Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs), FDR's Good Neighbor Policy, CBS, Viva America, Armed Forces Radio Service and La Cadena de las Americas on google.books.com</ref>
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