Playing Bass at the Ernie Pyle Theatre, 1947

This bass man learned to play on an instrument provided by the Red Cross while in a POW camp at Stalag 2B in Germany. After the war, he played and sang jazz and blues in combos from Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Houston, Texas. In 1946, he went back into the service with the Army Air Corps and was sent to Okinawa where his musical talents were discovered by Special Services. He played in a jazz combo that entertained the troops from Tokyo to the Philippines. He also played, sang and acted in shows performed at the Ernie Pyle Theatre in Tokyo, including "Tico-Tico" and "On the Midway."

(Photographs of Steve Ketzer, Sr., Okinawa and Tokyo, Japan, circa 1947, photographers unknown)