They don't make immigrants like THIS anymore...or DO they?

An Armistice Day Story... a little late, but who cares? You won't, after reading this!

In 1918, during World War I, Israel Baline, a Jewish immigrant from
Russia served in the US Army stationed at Camp Upton near Yaphank on
New York's Long Island. Baline, a songwriter, staged a musical revue,
Yip, Yip, Yaphank which was billed as a military mess cooked up by
the boys of Camp Upton. He cut one of the songs he had written for
the show because he did not think that it was appropriate for the
scene in which it was to be sung. The sheet music lay neglected in his songwriter's trunk for twenty years.

In 1938, almost a year before Hitler's troops invaded Poland
precipitating World War II, Baline was asked to write a new patriotic
song for an Armistice Day radio broadcast. He tried but was unhappy
with all his efforts. Then he remembered the song he had written in
1918. It was sung on the November 10, 1938 broadcast and became an
immediate hit. The following year, all of the royalties were assigned
to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America. Those organizations
continue to receive these proceeds. He gave up the royalties because
he did not want to capitalize on this expression of gratitude that he,
as an immigrant, felt for the United States.

The songwriter: Irving Berlin
The singer: Kate Smith
The song: God Bless America

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