No single cultural artifact of World War II better expresses the spirit of the war effort than did Irving Berlin's musical This Is The Army. Originally a 1942 Broadway hit, the show toured the country, ending in Hollywood, where it became a smash 1943 film featuring a cast that included future president Ronald Reagan. The show was so popular that it was shipped overseas, winding its way through the various war theaters to entertain the troops. Irving Berlin's lyrics reassured Americans that this was the last time they would be called to war. His show-stopping tunes, "This Is the Army, Mr. Jones" and "The Army's Made a Man out of Me," were hummed by millions. The show had something for everyone. Billed as an-"all soldier musical," it nonetheless had characters such as Eileen, the girl left behind on the home front; who stoically...