AUSTIN, Texas — For many today, it may be hard to believe that at one time, a group of teenage girls from Texas travelled to war zones around the world to sing for U.S. military troops. Such was the life of a Melody Maid.
For many soldiers and sailors, they were known as America’s singing sweethearts, a group of talented teenaged girls from Beaumont who lifted spirits across the globe during World War II and beyond.
The Melody Maids were founded in 1942 by Beaumont music teacher Eloise Milam. What began as a small group of high school singers quickly grew into an international phenomenon. Over the next three decades until 1972, more than 1,500 young women became Melody Maids, traveling to over 20 countries to entertain U.S. troops and communities abroad…