Special Services (entertainment)

For other uses, see Special service (disambiguation).

Special Services were the entertainment branches of the American military.

For the U.S. Army, the unit was created on July 22, 1940 by the War Department as part of the Army Service Forces. Special Services not only used its own specially trained and talented troops but also would often engage local performers. Among its activities were staging plays and stage acts, holding concerts, filming documentaries, and providing recreational opportunities for servicemen.

The Army's Special Services opened their first Recreational Officer school at Fort Meade Maryland on April 1, 1942. Special Services were one of the few Army units to be racially integrated during World War II.

Within the United States Marine Corps, the Special Services Division was the forerunner of today's Special Services Branch. It was formed on March 1, 1943, to provide morale maintaining recreational and informational services to Marine Corps personnel. As of at least 2004, the Special Services Branch was still active within the USMC.

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