1918: Irving Berlin Writes
"God Bless America" at Camp Upton

In 1918, while stationed at Camp Upton in Yaphank during World War I, Irving Berlin wrote a song called "God Bless America" for an army revue, "Yip, Yip, Yaphank." The song wasn’t used. In 1938, as the Armistice’s twentieth anniversary approached and World War II threatened, singer Kate Smith’s manager asked Berlin to write her a patriotic song. He revised the song’s lyrics, and on November 11, Smith debuted it on her weekly radio show, the "Kate Smith Hour." The song was an immediate hit, and Smith sang it regularly for the two next years. She also recorded it for RCA Victor in March 1939. In 1940, Berlin established the God Bless America Foundation, donating royalties from the song to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. "God Bless America" is considered to be the unofficial national anthem of the United States. Berlin is shown here in a 1917 photo.