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show was born featuring her and her husband. Billed as the "Jill" of the programs namesake, she never revealed her real name live on air and few knew she was married and had 2 young daughters. When her husband entered the Army, she began hosting the program as a solo presenter. The show was broadcast
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Interaction went both ways as some listeners sent Jill pictures of themselves, leading her to comment, "I think I was the only person in the world who had pinup boys." Some even sent her hand-made trinkets like a bracelet fashioned from a crashed airplane's broken window and a crudely inscribed
230:, diplomat and National Security Council member William Lloyd Stearman reflected on hearing Jill during his time in the Navy: "GI Jill ... did so much to bolster our morale. She came across like a wholesome girl-next-door who began each radio show with 'Hi-ya, fellas! This is GI Jill with the
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Jill's rapport with listeners went beyond the 15 minutes of each broadcast. As servicemen wrote letters asking her to play certain records, she tried to reply to each letter she received, answering as many as 500 letters per week, including a photograph of herself with her letter.
191:
In addition to popular recordings of the time, Jill's broadcasts included birth announcements and her reading letters to military men from their wives. Eventually, AFRS officials realized the popularity of Jill's program and moved her to Los
Angeles, where she began broadcasting
130:
during World War II. She was notable for her positive effect of her personality and music selections on
American troops' morale and for being "universally credited with being the No. 1 overseas attraction" on AFRS. By the end of January 1945 she had made 870 broadcasts.
222:
but Jill said later that was not the point because
American servicemen did not take broadcasters like Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally seriously. "Our men — those who listened to enemy propaganda — only listened because there was nothing else to do," she said.
249:
program of sorts when
Virginia C. Claudon Allen was trained to broadcast in India to counteract broadcasts of Radio Tokyo. Allen "was sometimes referred to as the GI Jill of India." The original Jill eventually began a second program, AEF Jukebox.
285:, at the time he and Wilkerson lived in Scarsdale, New York with their teenage daughter. Reflecting on her experiences in broadcasting, the ex-disc jockey called her work as GI Jill, "the most important thing I've ever done in my life."
143:, where her mum was a screenwriter and theatre actress. Robert Morton "Mort" Werner, her husband, was an executive in broadcasting and advertising, and he produced some of her programs. She had a brother who was a
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Like an actress playing a role, Wilkerson considered Jill a separate entity. In 1966, she told a reporter: "The men overseas created Jill. They made her what they wanted her to be — the girl back home."
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Assuming that other servicemen had similar problems receiving mail from the folks back home, Jill conceived a radio program that featured recorded music and friendly talk. Officials in the
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heart-shaped pendant saying, "To Jill from Lou, 1944". Most of the letters and photographs that she received were destroyed when her family's house in
Hollywood burned.
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in Los
Angeles, California, and he was program director there. They had two daughters together. She also took time to write for the screen, which included
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292:, her husband Mort Werner, died in Maui aged 73, in April 1990 from kidney failure. Martha Wilkerson Werner died on 9 February 1999, aged 80.
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120:, 4 May 1918 — 9 February 1999) was an American disc jockey and radio host, best known for presenting program's "Jack and Jill" and
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noted, "For a long time, Army authorities admit, Jill's program was the only link the men at Guadal had with the folks back home."
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Jill was born Martha
Wilkerson, her father Sexton was a title artist and designer for several movie studio's including
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Wilkerson married Robert Morton "Mort" Werner on March 18, 1939. At that time, she worked at radio station
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514:"This is the American Forces Network": The Anglo-American Battle of the Air Waves in World War II
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Jill, with her commentary and records, was sometimes called "America's answer to Tokyo Rose" and
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An
American Adventure: From Early Aviation through Three Wars to the White House
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An
American Adventure: From Early Aviation through Three Wars to the White House
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884:. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 212.
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811:. California, Santa Cruz. United Press. December 24, 1945. p. 2
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419:. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 622.
913:"A thorough 'education' in client, agency and network fields"
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The program included interview with numerous stars such as
942:"Obituary of GI Jill, Martha Werner born Martha Wilkerson"
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program on Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II
636:"Mort Werner, 73, Television Producer And NBC Executive"
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The Directory of the Armed Forces Radio Service Series
600:. Pennsylvania, Indiana. Associated Press. p. 26
357:"Martha Werner: GI Jill was a radio hero for Allies"
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365:. The Daily Telegraph. 27 February 1999. p. 14
281:and by the mid-1960s, served as vice president at
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277:In the early 1960, Werner was president of the
517:. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 73–74.
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99:Robert Morton Werner (1939 - 1990, his death)
550:O'Neill, Sgt. James P. (December 7, 1945).
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776:. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 18.
413:Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920 -1960
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488:. February 5, 1945. Archived from
288:She retired in 1975, and lived in
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699:Sterling, Christopher H. (2004).
592:Heller, Jean (December 6, 1966).
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642:. April 17, 1990. Archived from
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594:""GI Jill" Now Quiet Housewife"
392:. 18 February 1999. p. A20
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447:Gould, Paul (September 1945).
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878:On the Short Waves, 1923-1945
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173:approved the idea, and the
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981:American women radio hosts
733:Stearman, William (2013).
705:. Routledge. p. 236.
665:Spragg, Dennis M. (2017).
234:.' ... We all loved her."
128:Armed Forces Radio Service
770:Mackenzie, Harry (1999).
739:. Naval Institute Press.
668:Glenn Miller Declassified
126:, a music program on the
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875:Berg, Jerome S. (1999).
805:"Civilians Hear GI Jill"
511:Morley, Patrick (2001).
410:Sies, Luther F. (2000).
268:(1951) and episodes for
265:Hard, Fast and Beautiful
245:Jill's success led to a
841:Shope, Bradley (2016).
384:"Funeral Announcements"
178:from San Francisco via
80:Disc jockey, radio host
556:Yank, the Army Weekly
185:Yank, the Army Weekly
27:American disc jockey
809:Santa Cruz Sentinel
598:The Indiana Gazette
966:American radio DJs
646:on 26 October 2017
640:The New York Times
492:on 20 October 2017
482:"Radio: G.I. Jill"
891:978-0-7864-3029-1
389:Los Angeles Times
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971:1918 births
815:October 23,
604:October 24,
213:Dinah Shore
205:Bing Crosby
107:2 daughters
47:May 4, 1918
960:Categories
926:26 October
897:25 October
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496:20 October
466:25 October
432:25 October
396:2023-03-27
369:2021-10-31
296:References
220:Axis Sally
145:lieutenant
135:Background
552:"GI Jill"
462:(5): 9–11
164:G.I. Jive
247:spin-off
201:Bob Hope
149:U.S Navy
104:Children
51:Virginia
562:(25): 4
456:Tune in
232:GI Jive
194:GI Jive
147:in the
123:GI Jive
114:GI Jill
89:GI Jive
34:GI Jill
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96:Spouse
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260:KMTR
211:and
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59:Died
53:, US
40:Born
283:NBC
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