April 22, 1942: Red, white and blue balloons were toted into Times Square as part of a U.S.O. spectacle hosted by the vaudeville comedian duo Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson. Though the comedians made an appeal for “adequate recreational facilities for soldiers on detached duty in remote areas,” any air of patriotic unity dissipated as soon as the balloons were released, and “a few pugilistically inclined spectators were restrained from wholesale grabbing by the police.”
