When actress, singer, comedienne Martha Raye donned a uniform to make
the movie Four Jills in a Jeep it became the first of many uniforms
she would wear in her lifetime service to our troops in the field. I met
Martha Raye, or Colonel Maggie, as she had become known, in the late '60s.
She had just returned from Soc Trang in Viet Nam and was starring in a music
fair play called Hello Sucker. The play was in nearby Smithville
and we invited Col Maggie to come to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, for the
Anniversary of Women in the Air Force.In spite of her busy schedule she
said yes and could she wear her uniform. I was the squadron commander of
over two hundred women and constantly admonishing my young ladies to look
feminine, wear make-up, and act dignified, both in uniform and out. The
afternoon that Col. Maggie showed up I was flabbergasted.
This is what she wore:
A complete male Army Green uniform including
combat boots, with trousers tucked in the top of the boots, shirt, tie and
Green Beret.
But it didn't really matter.
The troops loved
her and she was a delight. She spent the entire afternoon talking and joking
with the young Air Force women who loved hearing about Col Maggie's adventures
in World War Two and in Viet Nam. Martha Raye, the gracious actress, then
invited the entire squadron to her performance that evening, as her guests!
"Captain Barb" and "Colonel Maggie"
We scrambled for enough vehicles to get us there on time and just before
the performance was due to start a voice on the speakers asked the audience
to rise, and to join Miss Raye in her traditional pledge to the flag and
the singing of our National Anthem. Martha Raye came in to an ovation, stepped
over to the edge and gently but firmly pulled two of us on stage with her.
She introduced the WAF Squadron, to whom she dedicated her performance,
had me lead the Pledge of Allegiance with a salute, then sang the National
Anthem as I have never heard it performed.
Colonel Maggie is no longer with us, but hundreds of men and women will
remember her. She began entertaining the troops in 1942, traveling all over
the world to be with them. For nine years she went to Viet Nam, sometimes
staying as long as six months. Not only did she perform on stage but when
things got rough she filled in as a nurse, often going hours without a break.
In 1993 Martha Raye was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her
lifetime service to America. When she died a special exception to policy
was made so that she could be buried in the military cemetery at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina. For fifty years Colonel Maggie served the military she loved.
Those of us who knew her considered her as much, if not moreso, a part of
the Armed Forces. She wore the uniform proudly; she wore the uniform in
the trenches; she wore the uniform in the mud instead of on stage; and
she deserves to be remembered for those fifty years of unique and totally dedicated military
service.
Colonel Maggie - we salute you!
Visit the author of a wonderful book about Martha Raye Memories of Maggie
Unless otherwise noted contents © 1996 to date by Captain Barbara A. Wilson, USAF (Ret)
