AdvertisementFrom Peace To Patriotism: The Shifting Identity Of 'God Bless America'September 02, 2013NPR StafffacebookEmailAmerican composer Irving Berlin sings his song "God Bless America" in front of Boy Scouts troop members and spectators gathered at a tent in Monticello, New York in 1940. Instead of collecting royalties from "God Bless America," Berlin created a fund that collected and distributed them to the Boy and Girl Scouts. (Getty Images)