Words at War: 6/24/1943 – Combined Operations

In 1943, the United States Office of War Information (OWI), in cooperation with The Council on Books in Wartime, and the National Broadcasting Company combined to suggest a radio program dramatizing some of the more important of these books.

The Council on Books in Wartime was a non-profit organization founded in the Spring of 1942 by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors, with the purpose of channeling the use of books as “weapons in the war of ideas,” the Council’s motto. Its stated aims were “the promotion of books to influence the thinking of the American people regarding the war, to build and maintain the will to win, to expose the true nature of the enemy, to disseminate technical information, to provide relaxation and inspiration, and to clarify war aims and problems of peace.”

The efforts of this combination resulted in the premiere on June 24, 1943 of the critically acclaimed Words At War series, the name a play on the motto of the Council on Books in Wartime. The eventual result was a series that ran for some ninety-seven-plus, 30-minute programs aired mostly sustained over NBC and covering over 120 books and publications addressing elements of war and its impact on society. The series spanned the works of an international collection of authors, ranging from Colonel Carlos P. Romulo of the Army of The Philippines to the Chinese, Harvard educated author Lin Taiyi to authors representing their perspectives on World War II from The Netherlands, Italy, The Balkans, Soviet Russian, Japan, and even Nazi Germany, providing a comprehensive, domestic and international series unmatched in radio history.

The first show of the series tells the official story of the British Commandos.

Words at War – Combined Operations

Les Damon, Jackson Beck, Victor Beecroft, Joseph Losey (director), Walter Kinsella, Roger De Koven, Frank Black (composer, conductor), Ian MacAllaster, Hillary St. George Sanders (author, host), Richard McDonagh (adaptor).

NBC network. A sustaining show.

Download the show here!

Related posts:

1. Words at War: 7/31/1943 – From the Land of Silent People
2. Words at War: 8/07/1943 – Prisoner of the Japs
3. Words at War: 7/10/1943 – They Call It Pacific
4. Words at War: 10/19/1943 – Shortcut to Tokyo
5. Words at War: 7/17/1943 – The Last Days Of Sevastopol
6. Words at War: 9/16/1943 – Since You Went Away
7. Words at War: 7/24/1943 – The Ship
8. Words at War: 8/21/1943 – Malta Spitfire
9. Words at War: 10/12/1943 – Paris Underground
10. Words at War: 8/14/1943 – Love at First Flight
11. Words at War: 9/30/1943 – The Battle Hymn of China
12. Words at War: 9/23/1943 – They Shall Not Have Me