Introducing...The Sky Blazers

Description:

In New York City in 1939, neither eighteen-year-old Jack “Jake” Jacobson nor his comrade Murray “Duke” Davison had any intention of joining the military. Their sights were set on playing club dates in what Duke called the “upholstered sewers” of Manhattan. Jake, a comic, and Duke, a jazz trumpet player, were amateur entertainers looking for their big break, not men in uniform readying themselves for war.

That all changed after Pearl Harbor. Newly inspired, Jake and Duke decided to act honorably and enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps. En route to their first assignment in North Africa, Jake and Duke persuaded Gen. Lewis Brereton of the Ninth Air Force to allow them to perform for their fellow soldiers and boost morale. Spurred by Jake and Duke’s success, Brereton subsequently created the first Combat Special Services Entertainment Unit.

The eventual formation of this fifteen-piece troupe of comics, singers, and musicians—dubbed the “Sky Blazers”—lightened the spirits of combat troops across the Middle East, England, and France during the war. In their two and a half years overseas, they would have many close calls with the enemy as they struggled to put on their shows for the weary Allied forces. The Sky Blazers would also be privy to the glitz of the entertainment business, even performing for Egyptian royalty and at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Rife with glamorous highs and lifethreatening lows, Jacobson’s wartime story continues to entertain.

Reviews/Endorsements:

“An outstanding survey suitable for military and music collections alike.”
-- The Midwest Book Review, July 2010

“A good book about a completely different side of the war—and a subject that would probably bring a smile to all those who remember watching the Sky Blazers perform.”
-- WWII History, July 2010

“General readers and fans of military history will enjoy the episodic account of this troupe’s shows throughout Europe and the Middle East as well as their frequent encounters with enemy forces.”
-- Reference & Research Book News, November 2009

“…a key part of any serious military or music library.”
-- California Bookwatch, October 2009

“Gives readers one of the most enjoyable, light-hearted memoirs of life during World War II that can be imagined. There are few books about war that can make the reader feel true happiness and Introducing . . . The Sky Blazers does just that.”
-- World War II Forums

“Introducing . . . the Sky Blazers adds an interesting chapter to the story of the war, told in a slapstick style that authentically reflects one tenor of the times. If you like the radio programs, comedy, and culture of the 1940s, you’ll savor this spirited memoir.”
-- America in WWII, August 2009

"The most memorable time for all of us who lived it, brought back to vibrant presence by a born storyteller. Captures the music, laughter, and tears of a Hollywood classic of the forties—as well as the full horror and heroism of war. The brilliant final exit of a one-time Borscht Belt tummler become broadcasting legend, who never lost his penetrating eye or brimming heart.”
-- Jerry Lewis, actor and comedian

“Jack Jacobson writes (and reports) with passion and humor. To read Introducing . . . The Sky Blazers is to be taken back to what now seems a better, more selfless time. Kudos for helping us to remember the ubiquity of everyday American heroism and hope in a time of terrible challenge. For me, Introducing . . . The Sky Blazers is personal, particularly the prologue set in North Africa in 1943—where my father, Captain Frank B. Coffey, was flying missions in a Martin B-25. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Jacobson, and the laughs.”
-- Frank Coffey, author of Always Home: 50 Years of the USO—The Official Photographic History

“Jack Jacobson has written a thoroughly enjoyable, fast-paced, poignant, funny, and powerful account of an unlikely group of Ninth Air Force soldiers during World War II. Jacobson knows how to pace his story as he takes you from the Jewish streets of the Upper West Side via Dayton, Ohio, to the sands of North Africa, and, via England, to France a scant fifteen days after the Normandy invasion. Full of unexpected twists, Introducing . . . The Sky Blazers may be among the last of the war memoirs as a generation passes away.”
-- Deborah Dash Moore, author of GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation