"The St, Louis Blues March" by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Orchestra

 "America means freedom and there's no expression of freedom quite so sincere as music." Major Glenn Miller, United States Army

During World War II we lost many great men. The majority were ordinary men doing extraordinary things who died in combat. Among those who died in service of the United States during World War II was a music superstar. Trombonist and bandleader Glenn Miller had more top ten hit singles than either Elvis Presley or The Beatles. In 1942 he was making anywhere from $15,000 a week (that would be $233,728.71 today) to $20,000 a week (that would be $311,638.28 today).

That having been said, Glenn Miller wasn't merely a great musician. In 1942 he could have easily continued recording and performing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and reaping a good deal of success in doing so. Instead he wanted to serve his country in the war effort. At 38 Mr. Miller was too old to be drafted. He then volunteered for the United States Navy. They told them that they had no need of him. Fortunately the Navy's loss would be the Army's gain. He convinced the United States Army to take him so that he could "...be placed in charge of a modernized Army band."

Glenn Miller entered the United States Army with the rank of Captain. Eventually he would form the 50-piece Army Air Force Band. He would also be promoted to the rank of Major. It was then in 1944 that Major Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Band were sent to England. There they not only gave several performances, but they also made propaganda recordings for the Office of War Information at Abbey Road Studios in London. Glenn Miller's music would be broadcast on the Armed Forces Network, which used the BBC's facilities. Major Miller's contributions to the war effort should not be underestimated, as they helped the troop's morale as well as countered any German propaganda. No less than General Jimmy Doolittle of the United States Army Air Force told Glenn Miller, "Next to a letter from home, Captain Miller, your organization is the greatest morale builder in the European Theatre of Operations."

Sadly, Glenn Miller's life would end all too soon. It was on December 15 1944 that Glenn Miller left RAF Twinwood Farm in Clapham for Paris in order to make arrangements to bring the Army Air Force Orchestra to the troops in France. The plane on which he flew was a single-engine UC-64 Norseman. Unfortunately, it disappeared over the English Channel. To this day Major Miller's disappearance remains a mystery. While there have been plenty of conspiracy theories (none of which are worth considering), given the weather that day and the type of plane in which Major Miller was flying, the most likely explanation is that the fuel intakes simply froze, leading to the plane's crash.

In honour of Major Glenn Miller and all the others who sacrificed their lives during World War II, on this day I would like to share "The St. Louis Blues March" by Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Orchestra.