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The American Forces Network Europehad an extraordinary beginning, born

out of the winds of war and nurtured intobroadcast history by legions of citizen-sol-diers. American Forces Network Europe

started as an idea in the mind of GeneralDwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower more than ayear before the invasion of Europe duringWorld War II.

As an experienced military leader, Ikeknew that an informed soldier would be abetter soldier and it was this basic philoso-

phy that formed the foundation of hisvision. The General and his staff of warplanners in London also knew that thou-sands of American GIs who were pouringinto Great Britain and preparing for D-Dayalso needed entertainment…Americanentertainment.

THE PROBLEMIn September 1942 the results of a soldiersurvey revealed low GI morale due to harshconditions in overcrowded camps, constanttraining and growing anxiety of theimpending war. USO camp shows providedsome entertainment and the BritishBroadcasting Corporation, the BBC, provid-ed 30 minutes of American music and fiveminutes of news and sports on weekends,but it wasn’t enough. GIs disliked the BBCso much that some resorted to tuning theirradios to Nazi propaganda broadcasts fromGermany.

THE SOLUTIONGeneral Eisenhower ordered his staff toquickly find a way to provide solders withinformation and entertainment to whichthey were accustomed “back home.”General Everett S. Hughes and BrewsterMorgan at the Office of War Informationcalled a meeting and within hours agreed toestablish a magazine, a newspaper and aradio station. The magazine, later called“Yank”, was popular throughout World WarII. The newspaper, which had its roots inWorld War I, “The Stars and Stripes”, con-tinues publication today. The radio stationthat would have a series of transmitterslocated near U.S. soldier camps would beknown as The American Forces Network.

THE LEADERBecause of his civilian broadcast experi-ence Captain John S. Hays was selected to

organize the establishment of the radio net-work. His first goal was to persuade theBBC to relinquish some of its monopolisticbroadcasting rights.

As an incentive he offered the BBC exclu-sive rights to some popular American radioshows. After organizing a small office inLondon and hiring a secretary, CaptainHays began a tedious search through mili-tary personnel records. He uncovered thenames of 12 civilian broadcasters in uni-form already in England. They were trans-ferred to AFN, and, with the help of the U.S.State Department, Captain Hays obtainedstudio space at 11 Carlos Place in London.

Hays, like many AFN alumni, would con-tinue to gain prominence as a public ser-vant after leaving the network. He servedfor a time as the U. S. Ambassador toSwitzerland. The names of other well-known Americans appeared on the uniformroster of early-day AFN Europe includingactors Broderick Crawford and MickeyRooney and famed Hollywood movie direc-tor Josh Logan, to name a few.

BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULYIt is not by accident that AFN transmitterswere activated on Independence Day. It issomehow appropriate that the soldier net-work would begin to broadcast onAmerica’s most patriotic annual obser-vance. At 5:45 on the afternoon of the 4thof July, 1943, listeners heard “The NationalAnthem” followed by introductory remarksby Brewster Morgan. Then, AFN’s first discjockey-announcer, Technical Sergeant SylBinkin, began spinning records and a tra-dition in military broadcasting was born.Among the early locally produced pro-grams were “The Duffel Bag Show,”“Combined Operation,” and “Your Town”.The programs had an immediate and posi-tive impact on soldiers and were widelyheard by the British population.

THE INVASIONBy May 1944, 1.7 million U.S. soldierswere poised in Great Britain waiting fororders to cross the English Channel to

By Herb Glover, John Provan and Roger Williams

From a London base-ment to remote stationsacross Europe, AFNradio and TV tells theGI’s story.

60 YearsAFN Europe:

and Counting

AFN – London, Mickey Rooney 1945

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begin one of the largest invasion opera-tions in military history. D-Day came amonth later and AFN reporters accompa-nied the invasion force to broadcast thesoldier’s story, to entertain and to inform.That same month AFN studios moved to 80Portland Place, closer to BBC headquartersand farther out of range of German V-1rockets. By war’s end, some 75 AFN radiotransmitters were operating throughoutGreat Britain.

THE PROGRAMSThe Armed Forces Radio Service providedmuch of the radio programming on 16-inch transcription discs in the UnitedStates. Among the early programs were“Mail Call”, “At Ease”, “Sound Off”,“Hymns From Home”, and GI Journal. Oneof the most popular and successful showswas “Command Performance”. It was aspectacular wartime variety show and wasprepared for AFN by top names in theentertainment industry and transmitted byshort wave from CBS and NBC studios inthe U.S.

Famous personalities donated their tal-ents each week to the war cause and wererequested by servicemen to appear on thisshow. The show was created by Louis G.Cowan and virtually all the big names ofradio and film appeared at least once inthis production which ran until war’s end.

THE STARSMany famous stars also stopped by the AFNstudios in London while on troop entertain-ment tours. There, they would be interviewedby AFN reporters beginning a longstandingtradition that increased the popularity of thenetwork and the morale of the troops.

THE PARTNERSHIPSAs the war progressed, AFN joined with theBritish and Canadian BroadcastingCorporations (BBC & CBC) to form theAllied Expeditionary Forces Program(AEFP). It was General Eisenhower’s mainconcern that Allied forces show unity, at allcost. To prevent misunderstanding and to

ensure everyone got the same information,it all came from a single source, the AEFP.This joint national arrangement continuedoperating until July 28, 1945.

THE “RIGS”Mobile broadcasting units were built andthe first rig to see action was attached tothe 5th Army Italian Campaign. Soon othermobile units were built and were assignedto the 1st, 7th and 9th U.S. Armies.

THE HEROESLike most wartime military outfits, AFN suf-fered casualties. Sergeant Keith Jamesonhad the top of his mobile unit shot awaywhile on assignment in newly liberatedParis and suffered minor injuries. The 7thArmy AFN broadcast unit often came underenemy aircraft fire. On one tragic occasion,AFN Sergeant Jim McNally was killed whilemanning his station. Other AFN reportersalso flew bombing missions and jumpedwith airborne units. While accompanying aparatroop unit into France, correspondentSergeant Pete Parrish was killed in the lineof duty.

THE WAR ENDSBy war’s end, AFN began reconstitutingitself on the European continent, withtransmitters and studios located inAntwerp, Biarritz, Bremen, Berlin,Chamberry, Cannes, Frankfurt, Kassel, Le

Havre, Lyons, Nancy, Nice, Nuremberg,Marseilles, Munich, Paris, Port de Bouc,Reims, Rome and Stuttgart.

Several of the mobile units eventuallywere used to help establish the AFN net-work in Germany. A 7th Army unit wasused in the creation of AFN Munich. 1stArmy’s mobile rig became AFN Paris, andwas later transferred to AFN Frankfurt. The9th Army gear went to Bremen. 5th Armyleft several mobile stations behind in Italythat were later used in the formation of theU.S. military’s Blue Danube Network inAustria. Elements of the 5th and 15thmobile units found their way to AFN Berlin.

The end of the war abruptly dropped thesize of both the AFN staff and audience.Troops went home on Liberty ships and wereoften accompanied by returning AFN broad-casters who continued to provide entertain-ment on ship sound systems. Upon reachingNew York, AFN announcers would sign offwith, “This is AFN’s Atlantic Forces Networkturning you over to NBC, CBS, the MutualNetwork and your local stations. Welcomehome!”

THE AUSTRIAN ANNEXBack on the European continent, AFNbegan establishing permanent studios.Among the most memorable early stationsand networks was the Blue DanubeNetwork with headquarters in Vienna and

AFN Nuremberg, SGT Alfred Badynski “Hymns from home” 1953-1955

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studios in Salzburg and Linz. FromAugust 1945 to October 1955, BDNprovided 5,000 U.S. soldiers sta-tioned in occupied Austria a taste ofhome. With the end of Austrianoccupation and that country’s neu-tralization BDN stopped broadcast-ing in October 1955. The stations’equipment was sent by convoyacross the Brenner Pass and wasused to help establish Headquarters,Southern European Network (SEN)at Caserma Passalaqua in Verona,Italy. SEN also established a closed-circuit radio station at Camp Darbyat Livorno, Italy.

SOUTH OF THE ALPSAmerican Forces Network South(AFNS), based at Caserme Ederle inVicenza, Italy, falls under the opera-tional control of American ForcesNetwork Europe (AFNE) headquar-tered in Frankfurt, Germany.

AFNS provides American Forces Radioand Television Service (AFRTS) toDepartment of Defense personnel and theirfamily members stationed in Italy, otherparts of southern Europe and a portion ofthe Middle East.

AFNS has geographic managementresponsibility for five affiliate stationsacross Italy and several unmanned “receiveonly” stations located throughout theMediterranean and Balkans regions.

AFNS and its affiliate stations – AFN-Vicenza, AFN-Livorno, AFN-La Maddalena,AFN-Sigonella and AFN-Naples – are staffedwith Army, Navy, Air Force, U.S. civilian,and local Italian national employees whoprovide the technical and operationalexpertise needed to deliver around-the-clock radio and television services to itsDOD audience.

AFNS traces its roots back to the BlueDanube Network in Austria that served U.S.occupation forces following World War II.Network operations moved with U.S. Forcesfrom Austria in 1955 to northern Italy

where it eventually became known as theSouthern European Network (SEN).

With the expansion of U.S. facilities andforces in northern Italy, SEN made a seriesof moves from Livorno to Verona and sub-sequently to its current location onCaserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, in 1967.

In September 1974, DOD appointed theU.S. Army as executive agent for all AFRTSbroadcasting operations in Italy.

In 1979, SEN changed its name to theSouthern European Broadcasting Service(SEB).

In 1983, after eight years of negotiationswith the Italian government, SEB began“over-the-air” television broadcasting fromeight affiliate locations throughout Italy.One year later, the Italian governmentgranted the network permission to estab-lish a satellite delivery service.

In a ceremony on July 17, 1985, TheHonorable Maxwell M. Rabb, U.S. Ambassa-dor to Italy, officially activated the AFRTS satel-lite system in Italy. This signal also providedradio programming on FM 106 and FM 107.

As SEB moved into the 1990s,the network continued its traditionof excellence and innovation withcontinued support of the DODagencies and commands that makeup the southern European region.

During Operations Desert Shieldand Desert Storm SEB played a keyrole in the establishment of theDesert Storm Network, deployingpersonnel to Southwest Asia andproviding U.S. radio and televisionnews, information, and entertain-ment to American forces in thePersian Gulf.

In October 1992 DOD directedthe Army Broadcasting Service toprovide a single source for AFRTSprogram services for the U.S. audi-ence in Europe. The plan alsocalled for the eventual merger ofSEB and AFN.

On Jan. 1, 1993, SEB beganbroadcasting the program signalfrom AFN-Europe via satellite for

television and FM radio services. By March1993, SEB had completed the merger withAFN Europe to satisfy the new missionrequirements.

Army Broadcasting Service officially re-designated SEB as AFN-South on Oct. 1,1993.

The establishment of the AFNS CommandInformation Bureau (CIB) in 1993 provid-ed the network and its southern Europeancustomers with a team of journalists dedi-cated to supporting regional commandinformation campaigns. The CIB team alsodeploys in support of NATO, SETAF andNavy Sixth Fleet operations and exercises.

Today, AFN-South headquarters remainsco-located with the U.S. Army SouthernEuropean Task Force at Caserma Ederle inVicenza, Italy, and its affiliates continue toprovide their customers with 24-hournews, entertainment and informationalprogramming.

THE FRENCH CONNECTIONAlthough AFN had operated a station in

BDN – “WOFA” Main Station in Vienna, April 13, 1948

Paris and other locations in France it neverbecame a full-scale network. The short-lived AFN Paris produced shows such as“Midnight in Paris” and “Lower Music ofUpper Pig Alley”, which offered not onlyAmerican music but also French jazz to thelocal listening audience. AFN Paris intro-duced a song called “Symphony”, originallyknown as “C’est Fini”. It was written by ayoung Frenchman in hiding during the Nazioccupation. The song went on to becomean international hit. Many French listenerswere saddened when AFN Paris terminatedoperations in March 1946, mainly becauseAmerican jazz music was popular inFrench cocktail lounges.

With U.S. soldiers returning to bases inFrance in 1955, AFN created a small network called AFN France to support the NATO mission. Although talks for creat-ing an American network first began in1955, it was not until May 1958 that radio operations actually began. The keysticking point in the negotiations was aprovision in French law that required aFrench “monitor” to control all radio programs within the country.

AFN France had three studios operatingin Orleans, Poitiers and Verdun. One of themost remembered shows produced by AFNFrance was the popular “What’s Cooking”program hosted by Jean Vavrin. Some3,200 shows were recorded and heardthroughout the entire AFN network. Othershows included “Radio Chronicle”,“Beaucoup de Music” and “You Call theTune”. When French President Charles deGaulle pulled his country out of the NATOalliance, U.S. military forces were with-drawn and AFN France terminated opera-tions. It was not by chance that the finalrecord played over AFN France happenedto be titled “Good-bye Charlie.”

NORTHWARD TO BELGIUMWhen Headquarters Supreme HeadquartersAllied Powers Europe (SHAPE) movedfrom Paris to Mons, Belgium, AFN movedwith it and opened a station in February1974. The AFN SHAPE station has become

known as the Voice of the Benelux.Television service was added in December1980 and the station is a key news locationtoday as AFN SHAPE correspondents arefrequently heard and seen on the entirenetwork reporting on NATO developments.

THE STORY OF AFN INGERMANYIt is in the Federal Republic of Germanywhere the AFN Europe story experiences itsgreatest dynamic. Through the years as thepolitical landscape has changed, AFNEurope has likewise responded with theopening and closing of affiliate stations inorder to accompany the audience that it isdedicated to serving. A devoted listeningand viewing audience grew out of the dev-astation of war and the variety of locationsfrom which the network operated.

AFN BREMENIn July 1945 five AFN staffers arrived in the North Sea city of Bremen with orders to establish a radio station. A few days later amobile unit arrived and the station went onthe air before the month was over. By early1946 AFN Bremen had moved three times,until it finally found a permanent location inthe Haus des Reichs. AFN Bremen shut downin mid-April 1946, when the Bremen PostCommand ceased operations.

AFN BREMERHAVENAFN Bremerhaven began broadcasting inmid-May 1949. It was the smallest stationin the network and was located in a longbuilding with a thatched roof on KarlSchurz Kasern at the port. It remained avital part of the community until the end ofMarch 1993, when the station terminatedoperations with the closure of the base.One of the most popular locally producedshows was “Stickbuddy Jamboree”, whichopened with, “... So don’t you go wander –here is music from down yonder...”

THE AFN KASSEL CAPEROne of the most unique stories belongs tothe short-lived station in the north Hessencity of Kassel. The small operation was cre-

ated at war’s end, but it encountered someinvestigative eyes and was soon shut down.Two military criminal investigation agentsarrived at the station and apprehended anAFN staff member with some $17,000worth of cigarettes. It was soon revealedthat the entire staff of the AFN Kassel wasinvolved. AFN Headquarters did some seri-ous housecleaning. Perhaps it was coinci-dence or the realignment of U.S. forces butAFN Kassel closed on Christmas 1946.

AFN MUNICHAFN Munich was the network’s first stationin Germany. It was founded in early June1945 from a mobile unit just outside thehome of Friedrich August Kaulbach, a well-known artist. The house had been confis-cated in 1937 to become the home of NaziGauleiter, Adolf Wagner. Wagner installed asmall radio studio and a direct link to atransmitter site at Ismaning in order tobroadcast air raid warnings. The home hadsuffered no war damage and was quicklyacquired by AFN in 1945.

PATTON’S OWNThe opening of the station began with aslight blunder. Station Commander, MajorBob Light, signed the station on the airwith the words, “Good Morning, this is AFNMunich, The Voice of the Seventh Army”.What Major Light didn’t know was that dur-ing the previous night Lieutenant GeneralGeorge Patton’s Third Army had taken con-trol of Bavaria. Among AFN Munich’s earlylistening audience was the general, whohappened to be shaving. The short-fusedgeneral lost control of both his temper andhis straight razor when he heard that hewas listening to the Voice of the SeventhArmy, not his Third Army. He lived up tohis nickname as old “Blood and Guts” thatmorning as blood streamed down his faceand he screamed that he wanted “thatannouncer court-martialed”.

Inside the captured studios, AFN staffersfound an unusual tape recorder, whichplayed far superior quality soundtracksthan the wire recorders then in use by the

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U.S. military. It was an oxide audio taperecorder, the same type used today. AFNengineers discovered how to operate thesystem and AFN Munich became the firstAmerican radio station in history to userecording tape on the air.

LUNCHIN’ IN MÜNCHENAFN Munich produced many memorableradio shows, including “Lunchin’ inMünchen”, “Bouncing in Bavaria” and“Masquerade Till Midnight”. The Munich sta-tion also did shows from the Armed ForcesRecreation Center’s Alpenhof, DeutschesHaus and General Von Steuben hotels, andfrom the Casa Carioca Night Club. For a timeAFN Munich had its own guesthouse inGarmisch with a small studio inside.

THE NUREMBERG TRIALSA historic assignment for AFN Munich wasthe Nuremberg Trials. From November1945 to early October 1946, AFN staffersHarold Burson, Saul Green, Grady Edneyand Walter Cleary were assigned to recordthe entire Nuremberg Nazi War CrimesTrials. The entire trial was broadcast liveon the AFN network and is considered tobe the network’s first remote broadcast.The entire proceedings were captured onnearly 2,000 16-inch transcription discsthat provided excellent quality. The entirecollection can now be found at the NationalArchives in Washington, D.C. AFN Munichceased operations in February 1992.

AFN STUTTGARTAFN Stuttgart originally began as a repeatertransmitter for the AFN Munich signal. InMarch 1948 AFN Stuttgart opened the firstof several studio sites, located on the topfloor of the Graf Zeppelin Hotel. The sta-tion served, among other communities,Headquarters, U.S. European Command.The station’s final location was on the topfloor of an elementary school at the Army’sRobinson Barracks until the station closedon April 16, 1993. Among the popularlocally produced shows were “Ivory TowerCoffee Shop”, “Swing Time Session” and“Club 17”.

AFN FRANKFURTAFN Frankfurt began operating on July 15,1945 from a confiscated home in the city.Before AFN headquarters’ operations couldmove from London a new larger site wasrequired. A Captain Cummings is creditedwith having discovered romantic Hoechston the outskirts of Frankfurt. The vonBruning family was given a few hoursnotice to make way for the U.S. forces fromAFN and remove their personal belongings.Although Cummings assured the family theywould be back in their home within 24hours, little did anyone know it would beexactly 20 years before they were back intheir home. AFN moved into the Hoechstcastle on Oct. 1, 1946 in what wouldbecome the most remembered and well-loved location AFN ever had.

Some of the greatest stories originated inHoechst. For example, when a workerdropped a priceless crystal chandelierfrom the ceiling of the main ballroom tomake room for radio equipment. Or thelive, on-air slip-up, “This is AFN, forcingAmericans to serve in Europe”. And thetime when the announcer introduced theprogram with, “Listen... there’s music inthe air…”, which was followed by thesound of a toilet flushing.

News events the network covered duringthis time period included the constructionof the Berlin Wall, the assassination ofPresident John F. Kennedy in 1963, theassassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

in 1968, and the assassination of SenatorRobert Kennedy in 1968.

AFN BERLINAnother celebrated AFN location was inthe city of Berlin. On July 17, 1945, sever-al GIs arrived in Berlin on a jeep, withorders to establish a radio station within17 days. Soon two 2-ton trucks with amobile unit arrived, parking next to theirfuture home. A 250-watt transmitter pro-vided radio service within only a two-mileradius.

FANCY DIGSThe station soon moved into the confiscat-ed private 27-room mansion on PodbielskiAllee 28 in the exclusive Dahlem section ofthe city. The mansion had belonged to theNazi Foreign Minister, Joachim vonRibbentrop, who was executed followingthe Nürnberg war trials.

THEN THE STARS CAME OUTOver the years, countless celebrities visitedthe AFN Berlin studios, to include suchluminaries as Louis Armstrong, Les Brownand his Band of Renown, Gary Cooper, WaltDisney, Benny Goodman, Bob Hope, KurtJürgens, Elke Sommer, Connie Stevens andGregory Peck. The station also interviewedevery U.S. President to visit the city, toinclude John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon,Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

THE WALL FALLSWith the end of the Cold War, AFN Berlinmade history by documenting the crowdsas the first pieces of the Berlin wall fell andthe crowds surged into the Western side ofthe city. With the fall of the wall, foreignmilitary forces stationed in Berlin were nolonger needed. On Friday, July 15, 1994,AFN Berlin presented its final broadcast.

THEN THERE WAS NUREMBERGTwo AFN stations were added to the net-work somewhat later, AFN Nuremberg’s“Tower of Power” hit the air in January1950 with studios on the third floor of the

AFN Frankfurt AFN HQ Building on Bertramstr. 6, 1966-2004

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luxurious Grand Hotel in downtownNuremberg. After moving twice more dur-ing its service to troops in Germany’sFranken region, AFN Nuremberg said “AufWiedersehn” in September 1995.

AND K-TOWN TOOAFN Kaiserslautern didn’t begin operationsuntil December 1953, starting then from amobile unit. Through the years the organi-zation has generated tremendous listenerand viewer loyalty and serves one of thelargest military audiences in all of militarybroadcasting. Many Germansattribute their American musicknowledge to the AFN stationsscattered across Europe since1945. AFN brought jazz, blues,country and western, soul, androck ’n’ roll to Europe.

HQ AFN MOVES TOBERTRAMSTRASSEGerman government pressurefinally persuaded AFN to leavethe Hoechst Castle and seek anew home. AFN agreed anddecided to erect a new studiowith offices near German stateradio for the Hessen state(Hessischer Rundfunk) on Bertramstrassein Frankfurt. AFN began broadcasting fromthe new location in August 1966.

Frankfurt Dornbusch has remained the

AFN HQ’s home since 1966. Fromthis location, the network hasseen the U.S. military leaveFrankfurt in 1994, the construc-tion of a large German policeheadquarters across the streetwhere the main Frankfurt militaryshopping center once stood, andhas seen the former U.S. ArmyFifth Corps Headquarters, knownas the I.G. Farben Building as wellas the Abrams Complex, convert-ed into a German university cam-pus.

In 2001 AFN Europe received the bless-ing of U.S. Army Europe and the necessary$8 million to begin transitioning the HQ’sbuilding to Coleman Barracks, Mannheim,

which is considerablycloser to the U.S. militaryaudiences in centralEurope. The AFN HQ’sstaff will begin operationsfrom Mannheim in mid-to late-2004.

The German press haserroneously reported thatAFN will no longer bebroadcasting inFrankfurt, which is notexactly correct. AFN HQis moving to Mannheimand the local AFNFrankfurt/Hessen affiliate

station will be relocating to WiesbadenArmy Airfield, but the broadcast towersin Wieskirchen (AM 873) and theFeldberg (ZFM 98.7) will continuecarrying those sounds from Americafor years to come.

AFN TODAYDuring the late 1990s, the drawdown of

U.S. forces in Germany led to the closure ofmany installations and affiliate AFN stationssuch as Bremerhaven, Munich, Nürnberg,Stuttgart and Berlin.

As U.S. Force structure changed andmigrated across Europe, so has AFN Europe.The network maintained a small radio trans-mitter site in Heidelberg since the 1950s,but began studio broadcast operations asAFN Heidelberg in April 1993.

AFN Würzburg was a mere repeatertransmitter site for the AFN Nuremberg sig-nal until May 1, 1980, when studio opera-tions began at Leighton Barracks in amakeshift operation, sans even a toilet.Listeners soon realized that AFN WürzburgDJ’s were slipping away to another buildingto use the bathroom each time the stationplayed the complete version of the rock ’n’

AFN Bremen Bob Hope – 1947

AFN London CPL. Jerry Colona Interviewing Bob Hope in Queenberg Club 1943

AFN Berlin Capt Morgan & Ray Cave Interview Airlift Pilot 1984-1949

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roll classic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by IronButterfly. AFN Würzburg’s building hasbeen continuously expanded to include, inaddition to bathrooms, even local televisionstudio service.

AFN Europe staff members were pulledfrom across the network in late-1990 foroperations during the Persian Gulf War,helping to staff the Desert Shield Network.Stations were located near U.S forces inKing Kahalid International Airport, AlJubayl and Riyadh. AFN was pulling doubleduty since one third of AFN’s Europeanaudience was deployed to the Gulf withfamily members remaining back in Europe,

longing to hear about their lovedones in Operations Desert Shieldand Desert Storm.

Other AFN deployment opera-tions that were significant moraleboosters include AFN Zagreb inlate November 1992, AFN Entebbe,Uganda, in August 1994, AFNSomalia, from May 1993 untilMarch 1994, and when NATO troopsdeployed into Kosovo in 1999 with serviceto Camps Bondsteel and Monteith.

AFN Bosnia began at Eagle Base in Tuzla,Bosnia, in December 1995, and had livebroadcast operations from there until April2002. The AFN signals are stillbroadcast across Bosnia, only fromthe Frankfurt Headquarters.

AFN has always gone with theU.S. Forces, so new stations havealso come and gone in recentyears to Tazar, Hungary, and Tuzla,Bosnia.

The network has seen its shareof sadness as well. Several AFN ser-vicemembers have lost their livesin the line of duty. PFC WalkerHayduck was killed in a car acci-dent near Heidelberg on Oct. 8,1946 while on assignment for asegment of “Off the Road” radioseries, and Airman Mike Sutton and Private

Bruce Scott were killed in September1982, when their Chinook helicoptercrashed during a U. S. Air Show nearMannheim, Germany, while on assignment.

It is estimated, or guess-timated, thatAFN has touched the lives of at least 11 to

AFN Frankfurt DJ Army Specialist 5 Ray Tubberville on the air in 1975. Ray retired as a civilian in Feb 2003 with over20 years of AFN experience, both as a solider and civilian.

AFN received 100,000 letters a year – 1960’s

Comedian Milton Berle with AFN Berlin Station Staff 1965

Newsman and weekend DJ Air Force Staff Sergeant Steve German (2003)

12 million GIs, family members, Germans,Belgians, Italians and other Europeanssince the end of World War II.

In late 1945 an American journalistdescribed AFN as “a composite of incredi-bilities. It was an all-American network thatcouldn’t be heard in the U.S., its listeningaudience figures were a military secret,and while all of its broadcasts originated(at the time) in London, it couldn’t beheard on radio sets in London. Andalthough it has no paid commercials, itdefinitely and proudly plugs America’sfinest product: the well-informed, well-entertained, ready-to-fight American ser-vicemen”.

As long as U.S. Forces, civilians and theirfamilies are serving in Europe, AFN willcontinue to inform and entertain and bringthat little touch of home to the audience.