I was in Nam 70-71, never got a chance to see the great Bob Hope, a true patriot and lifetime supporter of the troops.
Fond memories of LBJ...Long Binh Jail.
I had just gotten in country end of November ‘67 and was assigned temp duty at Long Binh at Christmas. The one time I volunteered when they asked for 2 dozen guys for a detail. Handed us baseball caps, They were green or red I can’t remember but gave us access all around the stage area. So glad I volunteered, ended up standing at the base of the stage by access steps where the show performers came on. 18 years old, and Christmas day had not only Bob Hope walk by me, but Raquel Welch. She smelled like a spring day as she passed and gave me a smile that welded me to the spot. And yes, that mini-skirt was that short. Definitely memorable.
I wasn’t a brownnoser so I did not get selected to go.
I was in VietNam 1967-1968. Never got a chance to go to the show.
The Vietnamese man introduced by Gen. Westmoreland was Nguyen Cao Ky, who at the time was Vice President of South Vietnam. He left Vietnam on April 30, 1975 and wound up in Orange County California, where he ran a liquor store. He died in 2011.
A couple of us commandeered the ordnance truck and drove up Hill 327 (Da Nang) to try and catch the show around Christmas time. Found a spot, way up there. Could barely make out the characters. Raquel Welch appeared to be acting bicthy and refusing to come back out at Hope’s urging.
Lousy seats, but at least I was there.
I recently watched this on PlutoTV. Loved it! I was just a kid then, but it brought back great memories with all of the acts, celebs... made me think of my Dad serving in Vietnam about that time. Don’t know if he ever got see ol’ Bob, though.