[5] Jill was born Martha Wilkerson, her father Sexton was a title artist and designer for several movie studio's including 20th Century Fox, where her mum was a screenwriter and theatre actress.
"[8] Assuming that other servicemen had similar problems receiving mail from the folks back home, Jill conceived a radio program that featured recorded music and friendly talk.
Officials in the United States Office of War Information approved the idea, and the Jack and Jill show was born featuring her and her husband.
"[7] In addition to popular recordings of the time, Jill's broadcasts included birth announcements and her reading letters to military men from their wives.
Eventually, AFRS officials realized the popularity of Jill's program and moved her to Los Angeles, where she began broadcasting GI Jive daily over 400 Army radio stations.
[7] The program included interview with numerous stars such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore amongst others.
"[8] Some even sent her hand-made trinkets like a bracelet fashioned from a crashed airplane's broken window and a crudely inscribed heart-shaped pendant saying, "To Jill from Lou, 1944".
Reflecting on her experiences in broadcasting, the ex-disc jockey called her work as GI Jill, "the most important thing I've ever done in my life".