25th's roaring thousands greet singing, slinking blonde bomber

From the Stars and Stripes archives:
25th's roaring thousands greet singing, slinking blonde bomber
article publié sur stripes.com  le 19 février 1954
By Cpl. Bob Jennings

 
Marilyn Monroe, putting her Far East honeymoon with baseball star Joe DiMaggio
on hold for a few days, sings for U.S. troops during one of several shows in Korea.
Bob Jennings / S&S 

WITH U.S. 25TH DIV., Korea — Indefatigable Marilyn Monroe sashayed into her fifth smash front-line performance here last night throwing new sparks Into the Lightning Division.

Marilyn, facing her wildest audience in Korea, lost control of her voice but never of herself when in the middle of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" the cheers swelled and her audience got the best of her.

The generously proportioned songstress lost the lyrics, stopped the music and turned her famous back to the audience for a quick tete-a-tete with her pianist, Al Guastafeste, Uniondale, L. I. The crowd loved it, taking on great satisfaction in having prolonged the incredible act. The starlet, with a smile and a swift fluff of her ,hair, flounced right back into the song, taking the beat on a new phrase.

Troops in the front rows peered through Bee See scopes. The 10,000-man crowd roared.

When Marilyn disappeared, the closing renditions of "Anything Goes" was hopelessly smothered in the uproar. Then the fabulous form shagged across the stage. to oblige photo fiends.

The 27-year-old trooper romped through her three sex-charged vocals bare-shouldered, as snow fell in Monroe Valley.

The 160th Regiment troopers changed the name of the show site from Grenadier Valley in honor of the breezy blonde's barnstorming tour across Korea.

California-born Marline said she was "very excited" about the snow.

She received her biggest turnout at the Grenadier Palace, commanded by Col. John G. Kelly, where an overzealous unofficial fan club of 13,000 soldiers smashed through. MP chains, stormed on stage, and stopped the performance half way through.

Kelly rushed to the stage from his front row VIP box, pacified the crowd and asked that the men move back from the stage.

It was the first time the Monroe show ground to a halt. Military police, sweating in the cold air under "Welcome to Monroe Valley" signs, leaned at a 45-degree angle against steel barrier posts trying vainly to hold off the crowd.

Harold E. Stassen, who also visited the 40th yesterday, reportedly stated that in his entire career he had never been up against such severe competition — even in his attempts to gain the presidential nomination.

Marilyn lunched with Brig. Gen. William Bradley, Fireball commander, who greeted her at the chopper strip with assistant unit commander Brig. Gen. John G. Hill, along with 20 handpicked. enlisted men.

The glittering starlet rode to the Grenadier Palace atop a tank with Kelly, who later made her an honorary member of the regiment.

In the empty mess, attended by men who were not able to see her perform, Cpl. Wilform Neely, N.Y., 116th Regt., sighed as he gurgled down his coffee. "Just let me sit in the seat that Marilyn Monroe occupied." He did.

The modern day Helen of Troy put on a morning show at the 3rd Div., where she. was welcomed by Maj. Gen. Charles D. W. Canham, division commander, who was too busy with training problems in the field to see the show personally but rallied his Marnemen to the command post bowl. The ranks were swelled by enthralled Greek and Belgian troops who are attached to the units.