[generally]

It just might be that our troops don't want to be entertained by those who are rooting for the other side to win.

I miss Bob Hope.

[P-Marlowe]

I miss Bob Hope.

Bob Hope

Bob Hope donated his time and talents to help USO bring "a touch of home" to those serving their country overseas.

Fact Sheet

• Master of the one-liner and the USO's tireless morale-booster for the troops, Bob Hope was the USO's "Ambassador of Good Will." He celebrated his 100th birthday May 29, 2003.
  
  
• Hope's USO career spaned six decades, during which he headlined approximately 60 tours.
  
  
• Hope's first performance for service members was at March Field, California, May 6, 1941.
  
  
• Hope's first USO tour went to Alaska and the Aleutians in 1942.
  
  
• Hope made his first combat zone USO tour in 1943, visiting U.S. forces in North Africa, Italy and Sicily.
  
  
• The first Bob Hope Christmas USO tour was in 1948, performing for the GIs who participated in the Berlin Airlift. The Bob Hope Christmas USO tour became a USO tradition, and he visited military bases and veterans' hospitals every December for the next 34 years.
  
  
• In 1969, President Lyndon Johnson bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon Bob Hope for his service to the men and women of the armed forces through the USO.
  
  
• Bob Hope made his final USO tour in December 1990, bringing Christmas cheer to troops participating in Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
  
  
• In 1997, the USO successfully worked with Congress to designate Bob Hope the first honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.
  
  
• At the 1997 USO Holiday Gala, the USO unveiled the "Spirit of Hope" Award. It is a portrait bas-relief of Bob Hope, created by St. Louis sculptor Don F. Wiegand and Michael Fagin a major donor to the USO.  

[PzLdr]

Me, too. I saw him twice: Korea in '68, Guam in '71. Amazing how an hour or two could raise morale so much.