September 1994

KCBA was one of the west coast transmitters operated by CBS for the government during the war. Located In Delano, California, It was part of "The United Network," the government's coordinated broadcasting effort to Latin America.

General Electric's KGEI began broadcasting from the San Francisco World's Fair on February 18, 1939 carrying mainly NBC programing. By 1942, when the station was moved to Belmont, California, KGEI was a favorite of American troops in the Pacific. "Nothing else . . . stirs the soldiers, sailors and marines on duty in the far Pacific as does the simple, straightforward introductory sentence to KGEI programs, 'This Is the United States of America.'" (KGEX was one of the station's multiple transmitters.) The station changed hands several times over the years, and, alas, closed down recently.