Published: Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009
Non-vet played war role
Jill Turnbow of Cambria entertained troops in Gulf War I; will speak at Veterans Day celebration of soldiers’ service
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closeJ ill Turnbow of Cambria says serving the Desert Shield and Desert Storm theater changed her life—but she went as a trouper, not a trooper, to entertain, not to fight.
She will be the keynote speaker at the annual Cambria Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 11, hosted by American Legion Post No. 432.
Post Commander Ron Waltman said that the 2009 ceremony is designed to “celebrate what our young servicemen and women are doing for us daily.”
- Non-vet played war role
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Celebrating those who serve U.S.
The Cambria Veterans Day observance begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, in the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St. The program includes remarks by scout and 4-H representatives and Santa Lucia Middle School students Alison Brunschwiler and Sergio Mendoza and a keynote talk by comedienne and troop entertainer Jill Turnbow. The Cambria Chorale, the FBC Quartet and Al Curtice will sing. The free celebration is presented by American Legion Post No. 432, which will also name its annual Don Bowman Patriotism Award honoree. Afterwards, the Sons of the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary will serve barbecued burger or hot dog plates with salad, drink and dessert for $5.
He predicts that people attending the Veterans Day celebration “can expect some wild stories and big laughs,” along with poignant reflections by Turnbow about spending time overseas with soldiers taking a break from the battle zone.
Local theater fans know Turnbow as a Texas-born director-producer, comedienne and actress who played “Brenda-Sue Birdwell” in the Cambria Follies and is executive director and co-founder of
Houselights Theater, based in Allied Arts’ Theatre at the Old Grammar School.
She also manages the Olallieberry Inn.
At the Veterans Day celebration, Turnbow will talk about a secret rest-and-recreation ( “R&R”) project for troops serving in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm during the first Gulf War. From Christmas 1990 to April 1991, she per formed comedy routines for approximately 27,000 troops who helped oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
About 950 military men and women at a time spent three days aboard a former cruise liner, the Cunard Princess, docked in Bahrain.
Turnbow recalled, “It’s a side of the Persian Gulf War you probably didn’t hear about on CNN …”
The R&R program “was such a big secret,” Turnbow said, “nobody knew where we were or what we were doing.”
However, for two weeks during that period, “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau featured the cruise-line breaks in his strip. “He nailed it,” she said. “We couldn’t believe how accurate he was, and had no idea where he got his information.”
Turnbow was a seasoned but still somewhat naïve comic when she came aboard. She had a job, her passport and no real guidelines, she said. She lived and ate on the ship.
As Turnbow matured, so did her 20-minute comedy routine. As it changed, so did her life. “These were some of the finest men I have ever met.”
She later compiled her memories into a one-woman show entitled “Between Iraq and a Hard Place,” which she performed in Los Angeles and off Broadway.
In 2001, The Los Angeles Times called it a “sidesplitting solo show … a heartening, harrowing and warmly comical glimpse into the nature of heroism and the patriotic bond among Americans connected by crisis and a common cause.”
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