AFN History

The American Forces Network Europe began broadcasting from London during World War II, using equipment and studio facilities borrowed from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC

Our first transmission to U.S. troops began at 5:45 p.m. on July 4, 1943 and included less than five hours of recorded shows, a BBC news and sports broadcast.  Our signal was sent from London via telephone lines to five regional transmitters to reach US troops in the United Kingdom. Nazi bombing raids over England kept knocking the station off the air.  In May 1944, AFN London moved from its original BBC studios at 11 Carlos Place to 80 Portland Place.

As D-day approached, the network joined with the BBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to develop programs especially for the Allied Expeditionary Forces.  When the actual invasion began, AFN programs were beamed to the war fronts via long-wave transmitters from the BBC and re-transmitted by AFRS (Armed Forces Radio Service) mobile vans that were attached to the various U.S. Army units attacking the European mainland.   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 AFN Paris. In November 1944, AFN Paris was located in the Herald Tribune building on the Rue de Berri broadcasting on a 15kw transmitter given to the U.S. forces by a French government that greatly appreciated the Allied liberation of the nation.

As Allied forces continued to push German soldiers back into their homeland, AFN moved east as well. The liberation of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands saw AFN stations serving the forces liberating Biarritz, Cannes, LeHarve, Marseille, Nice, Paris, and Reims.  

It's now the end of World War II in Europe, May 1945 and AFN Frankfurt goes on the air from a mobile van parked behind the famed I.G. Farben building, General Dwight Eisenhower's headquarters building in Frankfurt.  This building was later known to U.S. troops as the General Abrams building, home to the U.S. Army's V Corps until late 1994. 

On June 10, 1945 AFN Munich began beaming its signal from the mansion on Kaulbach Strasse to two 100kw transmitters in Munich and Stuttgart.   In August 1945, AFN Europe moved its headquarters from London to the European mainland in Frankfurt, Germany.

AFN services in Berlin, Bremen and Nuremberg soon followed.

On December 31, 1945, AFN London signed off the air, and during 1948 AFN closed all its stations in France.

During the late 1940s, AFN reporters and microphones covered such significant world events as the Nuremberg War Crime Trials, the Soviet blockade of West Berlin, and the Berlin Airlift.

On March 17, 1948 AFN Stuttgart signed on the air, and in 1949 AFN Bremen moved north to the port and became AFN Bremerhaven.

There was much expansion at the network in the 1950’s. AFN Nuremberg began broadcasting from the Grand Hotel in downtown Nuremberg in 1950. Three years later, AFN Kaiserslautern began local programming from a mobile van, and on October 21, 1954 moved into its present facility on the still-gigantic U.S. military complex at the Kaiserslautern-Vogelweh Military Shopping Center.

On May 23, 1958 AFN France return to existence when AFN Orleans began broadcasting to US military personnel in Camp Des Loges, Dreux Air Base, and Orleans. AFN Poitiers joined the AFN France network on November 20, 1958, and AFN Verdun followed on October 16, 1959.

AFN France grew into a collection of almost 50 FM radio transmitters scattered throughout the region to inform and entertaining American troops stationed there. France withdrew from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1967 and kindly asked the United States to leave the country, sounding the demise of AFN France. The station was trucked north along with all the U.S. forces heading for a new Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. AFN SHAPE signed on the air in 1967 at Chievres, Belgium. From its conception in 1967 until 1974, AFN SHAPE radio service was actually originated in Frankfurt and was broadcast to the SHAPE audience. On February 5, 1974, AFN SHAPE became a full-blown staffed AFN affiliate and originated its own broadcasts to the local audience in Casteau, near Mons, Belgium.

From the late 1940's to 1966, the AFN Europe network headquarters and Frankfurt affiliate were located in the Hoechst Castle, on the Main River in a Frankfurt suburb.  In 1966, Hessen, Germany state radio Hessischer Rundfunk provided a building near downtown Frankfurt for AFN, where we are presently located.

Until the early 1970’s, U.S. military television service was provided in Central Europe by Air Force Television at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. In the early 1970's, AFN assumed this responsibility for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS).

On October 28, 1976, AFN television moved from AFTV's old black and white studios at Ramstein Air Base to the network's new color television studios in Frankfurt. In the 1980's the network added affiliates with studio capabilities in Wuerzburg, Germany and Soesterberg, the Netherlands.

In 1984 AFN network headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany started receiving regular satellite transmissions from the AFRTS Broadcast Center in California. Using an uplink facility at Usingen, Germany, a satellite positioned over the Indian Ocean, and a system of television receive-only dishes, the AFN SuperStation began radio and television satellite transmissions on December 29, 1987.

The satellite distribution system increased the network's audience, and using on-base cable systems, brought AFN television into U.S. military housing areas in England.

Before 1989, most AFN Europe FM stations played recorded music for an older audience and the primary information network was on the AM dial. In the late 1980’s, the AFN FM frequencies became the standard bearer for local radio services and acquired the Z-FM moniker.

In January 1991, the network dispatched news teams and technicians to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. These professional broadcasters reported to families of soldiers deployed from Europe, and staffed a number of the U.S. radio stations making up the Armed Forces Desert Network.

The US defense draw down began in earnest after the Gulf War, and impacted AFN stations across Europe. Even though the Europeans are not our primary audience, many of their feelings are summed up in a German newspaper article in the early 1990's that stated "the U.S. military can leave Europe, but AFN must stay".

Many of the AFN standard bearers shut their doors in the 1990’s, including Munich in 1992, Bremerhaven in 1993 and AFN Berlin and AFN Soesterberg, Netherlands in 1994. AFN Stuttgart relocated in 1993 to serve the troops in the Heidelberg and Mannheim military communities.

In 1995, the last U.S. forces in Nuermberg relocated and AFN Nuremberg closed and the staff and equipment headed to the hills of Vilseck, Germany and signed on as AFN Bavaria. In late 1998, U.S. forces vacated the beautiful southern German city of Augsburg and a large transmitter serving a number of active-duty and a large number of retired Americans in southern Germany fell silent.

Let's rewind to a very key statement made early in AFN's life that epitomizes everything we strive to do today.  It's July 4, 1943 and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower is addressing the American Forces Network staff in London: "A soldier who is well-informed and knows this country's national goals has good reason for being motivated and that gives him a fighting edge. It makes him a better soldier."

Here in the 21^st century, the American Forces Network Europe is still dedicated to this ideal.

U.S. military radio and television service in Europe is responsibility of the Army Broadcasting Service (ABS). AFN uses many of the top-rated stateside radio and television programming provided at a relatively small cost to us by AFRTS. Locally produced radio and television messages are placed in these programs where normally in the USA you would see commercials. The AFN network and local stations work with military leaders throughout Europe to provide information in these messages to keep the military and civilian personnel in theater informed and updated on significant events around the different military commands.

It’s now Christmas 1995, and AFN Europe is called upon once again to bring radio and television service to troops deploying into the Balkans. You may remember the video of the first U.S. transport aircraft landing a Tuzla Air Base and the AFN/AFRTS vehicle rolling off as one of the first in this new location.  We're still on the air from Tuzla, Bosnia and Taszar, Hungary to inform and entertain U.S. forces in the region maintaining peace in that volatile region of Europe.

In April, 1999 AFN was again called upon to bring a "touch of home" to forces deploying for missions in Albania. AFN went on the air May 29^th with service at the Tirana airport with satellite decoders and large screen televisions placed in high traffic areas.

The U.S. military invited AFN along again on another adventure in late-May of 1999. AFN technicians advanced into the Yugoslav Republic of Kosovo along with NATO peacekeepers. Z-FM and Power Network radio services are broadcast in the U.S. sector from Camp Bondsteel and Monteith. AFN television service is via satellite in many locations and even over the air in a number of locations in Kosovo.

The times have changed the way we do business, but as you can see AFN still deploys and participates in contingency operations whenever called upon in the U.S. European Command.   U.S. military members and their leaders know that AFN will be with them on the next mission, wherever that may take them. 

She was an immediate sensation in the Southland and beyond. KNX transmitted Reveille With Beverly thousands of miles in all directions. Her voice was heard on training bases, military outposts, troop ships far out in the Pacific and cargo planes from Alaska to New Zealand.

The following quote ends a long magazine interview with an Arizona Trailways reporter in 1944:
"Aging veterans, men and women, will carry memories of WW II's Reveille with Beverly into the next century. It is that important."

Bright colored Posters distributed to military bases carried an announcement reading, "Attention Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines! Station KNX presents radio's 'painless reveille' with a pretty girl and music for the armed forces. Among the nation's military problems is turning out soldiers at the crack of dawn with a sparkle in the eye and a feeling of well-being...  what with 'C.Q.'S 'Jimmy leg's, and others yelling 'SHAKE A LEG , MEN' - 'RISE AND SHINE'- 'HIT THE DECKS SAILORS' and 'OUT OF THE SACKS, YOU GUYS' The fates had additional plans for Beverly. Up the street from KNX, in a small office at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, she was about to fill another vital need...  Starting in May 1942, the Special Services Division of the War Department could now launch its own radio network.  With a green light and a huge wad of government cash, The Armed Forces Radio Service was created. It was given a mandate from  President Roosevelt to get on the air with its new programs ASAP!
CBS gave me lots of freedom on my live reveille show at dawn. That program was being picked up, recorded and shipped overseas by the AFRS. But with a fat new budget, AFRS would be producing its own programs. Almost immediately the War Department started transcribing my G.I. Jive shows on vinylite" and shipping them to hundreds of small frontline transmitters around the world. These transcriptions were aired directly over front line portable radio stations housed in trucks which moved along easily with the troops. The tiny transmitters put out only 50-watts of power, adequate to deliver Beverly's music to nearby tents, tanks and fox holes.

As the war dragged on, Army trucks housing small radio stations rolled eastward across Europe. American communications  people were greeted warmly and often allowed to broadcast directly from the commercial radio stations located in cities along the way. Finally, with America's triumphant entrance into Hitler's headquarters, his electronic equipment became available to US intelligence personnel. "I've always hoped that my voice may have emanated to our troops from Hitler's captured headquarters."

Beverly could dedicate requested records in a personalized way yet still reach millions of Allied soldiers in 54 countries. She had become a global personality, the first disc jockey with that distinction, carving a niche for herself in the annals of military history.  

Visit the site at http://reveillewithbeverly.com/ 

A History of V-Discs

At the depth of World War II -- July 31, 1942 -- The American Federation of Musicians, headed by James C. Petrillo, went on strike to seek royalties from the record companies to finance an unemployment fund to compensate musicians who lost work because of competition from recorded music. The strike dragged on for more than a year, drastically reducing the production of new commercial recordings. Bing Crosby, for example, recorded no songs for commercial release during the first year of the strike.

The strike also cut off the supply of new recordings to the troops overseas. Robert Vincent, a sound engineer and a lieutenant assigned to the radio section of the Army Special Services Division, approached the War Department with the idea of recording music especially for the troops. He received approval from Washington in July 1943 and was transferred to the music section of Army Special Services, where the V-Disc program developed.

Vincent set up shop at Third Avenue and East 42nd Street in New York City. His first order of business was to secure the blessings, including waiver of all fees and royalties, from recording companies and unions, including the striking American Federation of Musicians. To get these waivers the Army assured the unions that V-Discs would be for use of military personal only and would not be available commercially. Moreover, the unions were promised that V-Discs would not be declared military surplus but would be destroyed, along with the masters, when no longer of use to the armed forces.

Next Vincent had to secure a name for the project -- something more attractive than "Special Services Recordings." A secretary suggested V-Discs, the "V" standing for Victory as well as Vincent.

The first V-Discs were shipped Oct. 1, 1943, from the RCA Victor pressing plant in Camden, New Jersey. The initial shipment included 1,780 boxes each containing 30 records.

A variety of sources were used for V-Discs: commercial recordings (both issued and unissued "alternate" takes), radio broadcasts, including some from the Armed Forces Radio Service, dress rehearsals of radio shows where no audience was present, film soundtracks, and special recording sessions, often at odd hours and including unusual combinations of musicians. On several occasions network broadcasts were arranged for the purpose of generating V-Disc material.

V-Discs were larger than commercial 78rpm records -- 12 inches instead of 10 -- and were often cut with as many as 136 grooves per inch so that more than 6 minutes of music could be included. The standard commercial disc was limited to less than 4 minutes per side.

The V-Disc program survived both the musicians' strike and the War by several years. At the end of the War, Vincent left the army and recommended that the V-Disc program be discontinued. But production continued, although at a much reduced rate, until May 1949. During its 6-year run, the V-Disc program produced 900 unique discs containing 3000 separate recordings and shipped more than 8 millions discs overseas.

Although most of the unused V-Discs and their masters were dutifully destroyed, discs in the hands of service personnel found their way back to the United States and into various 'bootleg' collections. One fairly complete set of metal masters and issued V-Discs is in the hands of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

On the 50th anniversary of World War II, the musicians unions and record companies agreed to waive their ban on the commercial release of these recordings. E. P. "Digi" DiGiannantonio, who was in charge of the Navy V-Disc program during the War, began the process of transferring his personal collection of V-Discs to compact disc for public sale. This led to the release in 1998 of more than 70 of Bing Crosby's V-Disc recordings in a 4-CD package.

Nearly all of Bing's V-Disc material came from his 1943-48 radio broadcasts -- the Kraft Music Hall and Philco Radio Time.

Adapted from:
Sears, Richard S. V-Discs: A History and Discography, Greenwood Press, 1980. 

The next large audience was Korea and that seems to be somewhat limited--partly due to the continued service of the WWII stations. 

"Good Morning Vietnam" Became more evident with the movie starring Robin Williams. Very loosely based on Adrian Cronouer a AFVN announcer. The sounds came from radio station throughout the country and even from Planes flying Overhead, "Project Jenny" as it was dubbed. The DJ's and news, sports, weather personnel for television and radio left a indelible mark on Vietnam Era veterans. We are eternally grateful

Some DJ's entered the Military and got a little creative!

October 1966 was thought to be the final broadcast of KDNF, at least until Steve returned from military service in 1969. However, you can’t keep a good station down! During his tour of duty in Viet Nam, Steve was lucky enough to be stationed with the 1^st Signal Brigade, Regional Comm Group, Long Lines Detachment, Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Saigon. Steve was working at the biggest military communications site in Viet Nam. Since most of the GI’s in Viet Nam missed their favorite music, Steve saw an opportunity to utilize some spare channels at this communications site to broadcast old KDNF shows to different military bases around Viet Nam. Shortly after Steve settled into a regular schedule of tape rotation, other military sites receiving his signal would relay it to additional sites that were not directly linked to Tan Son Nhut. Soon, KDNF shows were being heard at military bases around the world!!

In 1969, Steve turned over the "worldwide" operation of KDNF to incoming personnel and headed home as a civilian. Eventually, KDNF AM was re-established in North Hollywood, but at a lower profile than it had enjoyed in 1966.

Another One with a cult following ;Supposedly ran a pirate Radio station. The Frequency he supposedly broadcast on was 69.69  Think about the numbers for a minute-- certainly not Viable. The Infamous Dave Rabbit. His show would air using foul language and attack verbally everyone in the military-- playing Hard Rock format and bragging about drug usage and which girl would give you VD in town. The  station that operated in South Vietnam-1971.

Beyond that, not much is known about Dave Rabbit and his pirate station. No one has been able to identify Dave's true identity. Pete Sadler was one of his assistants/engineers & a lady called "New Gin"-It operated on 69mhz on the Fm dial. SSgt Dave Rabbit and his pirate radio crew keeps the GIs in Vietnam well
informed and unusually entertained. Uncle Sam has denied the existence of Radio First Termer. The quality wasn't the greatest from the onset as the transmitter equipment wasn't intended for commercial use. During that period, several of the local hot spots would set up underground radio stations of very low power where GIs were often approached to broadcast on them to draw business their way. Usually the low power stuff was home-brew technology. Occasionally a higher powered transmitter would sign on and as in the case of this broadcast, it could be received for over 50 miles or better. When busted by the local
police, (invoking marshal law as it was deemed to be adversely effecting the moral of the troops) the more powerful xmitters were usually French made equipment circa late 40s to mid 50s.