Yes. Thanks for the memory, Bob Hope !
Posted on 07/28/2003 11:27:07 AM PDT by carlo3b
Anyone who complains needs to step out back and get a breath.
With an audience of military officers and enlisted , government leaders and tourists looking on, comedian Bob Hope, 94, was honored by the Congress with the title "Honorary Veteran of the United States Armed Forces" during a October 29 tribute in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. It seemed a fitting moment for the man affectionately known as 'GI Bob', whose brand of patriotism brought entertainment to U.S. troops during four wars and a number of peacekeeping missions for more than half a century.
Hope and his wife Dolores, accompanied by family members and personnel assistants, entered the Rotunda to the U.S. Army Band's version of "Thanks for the Memories." Former House Leader Bob Michel, who emceed the event urged veterans and active duty members to stand and be recognized as the band struck up rousing renditions of each service's hymn.
For nearly an hour, Hope's legacy of boosting troop morale was illustrated in the words and praises of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senators Arlen Specter, Trent Lott, Max Cleland, Strom Thurmond, and Congressmen Bob Stump and Lane Evans.-
Retired Marine Corps General Carl E. Mundy, Jr., a former Commandant and now president/CEO of World USO, referred to Hope as "this magnificent soldier in greasepaint" who had a way of bringing a little bit of home to troops in faraway places. Mundy recalled a rain-soaked day in Vietnam 30 years ago when Hope and his tour group brought some of that home feeling and laughter to a Marine Corps firebase.
The award was one of a couple thousand (according to the Guiness Book of World Records) the legendary comedian has received from U.S. presidents, Congress, the military and major veterans organizations during a lifetime of show business that began on the vaudeville stage. The Navy has dedicated the USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR300) - lead ship in a new class of Strategic Sealift vessels - in the comedian's honor.
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope was born in Eltham, England in 1903, the fifth of seven sons. His English father, William Henry Hope, was a stonemason, and his Welsh mother, Avis Townes Hope, was an aspiring concert singer. In 1907 the Hope family moved to America and settled in Cleveland, Ohio. Thirteen years later, the Hope brothers became U.S. citizens by virtue of their father's naturalization. After graduating from high school, Bob briefly worked as a dance instructor, newspaper reporter and amateur boxer who fought under the name "Packy East." He later performed in a string of Broadway musicals and comedies that eventually led to his first movie role, "The Big Broadcast", in 1938.
Hope began his love affair with the military in May 1941, when he and a several Hollywood performers entertained airmen at March Field in California. "GI Bob's" first foray into a combat zone occurred in 1943 during World War II when he and a small USO troupe performed for battle-weary troops in England, Africa, Sicily and Iceland. In 1948, then Secretary of the Air Force Stuart Symington asked the comedian to put on a Christmas show in Germany for U.S. troops involved in the Berlin Airlift. For nearly forty years thereafter, Hope would spend Christmas entertaining military men and women somewhere in the world.
As he accepted the framed resolution from Senator Thurmond and Speaker Gingrich, Hope waved to the audience and said, "I've traveled all over the world and I've never seen a better audience."
Yes. Thanks for the memory, Bob Hope !
This is a beautiful tribute. To most of us Mr. Hope was someone we admired for his patriotism, his courage and his comic genius, to you he was a friend. We all share your grief today.
Hugggggggg...
P.S. Never apologize for showing your heart.
Wow. What an exciting moment that must have been for you!
AND to be able to share that moment with Bob Hope!
I accompanied the order to his room, and I was shocked when he answered the door, and before I could catch my breath, and while I held out my hand to shake his, he grabbed it and pulled me inside and escorted me to the sofa in front of the TV. It was the moment that Astronaut Neil Armstrong, was about to take his historic step onto the surface of the moon. It turned out to be more that one small step for man it was a giant leap for my scrapbook.Soooooo, can you believe it, I sat there in a suite with BOB HOPE, and watched the world change forever. That entire evening, I had the distinct pleasure of enjoying what turned out to be much more than an historic event, it turned out to be a wonderful memory in more than one way. It was indeed funny how he had a way of making you feel so special.
Yes. I believe Bob is the only person so honored.
I listened on the radio in the '30's to Fibber McGee and Molly, Bob Hope, and Red Skelton. I can say to carlo3b that I envy you your experiences; Bob Hope was far and away my family's favorite.
I kept a yellowed newspaper clipping describing Hope's visit to the USS Lexington in the mid 80s (Brooke Shields and Jonathan Winters were also there). There are two things I will never forget about that performance, which I attended - I finally got to shake the hand of the man and thank him for entertaining my father in the Pacific during World War II, and the horrible sunburn I got that put me in the infirmary for 2 days. (I was a "tough guy" and didn't believe in wimpy things like sunblock).
I hope they DON'T make a movie of his life, because there isn't a single one of today's self-absorbed, self-important, America-hating twits we casually refer to as "celebrities" who even remotely can hold a candle to the likes of Bob Hope. The Hollywood of Bob Hope's productive years is long, long gone. To this day, the Leftists who infest Hollywood have never honored the only person from their community to become President of the United States. Any movie today's Hollywood types might make about Bob Hope would not be to honor the man, but to make a cold hard buck off his corpse.
In Hope's day, he and others like him were proud to be entertainers. Today, even the most lowly entertainment industry twits insist on being called "artists."
I have uploaded a number of Bob Hope radio shows to my online radio station at: http://www.live365.com/stations/dr_willie_feelgood I'll be run the tribute through 11:59 pm, July 30th, 2003.
NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense No. 548-03 IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jul 28, 2003 (703)697-5131(media) (703)428-0711(public/industry) Department of Defense Statement on the Death of Bob Hope Today, we mourn the loss of a true American patriot. The first and only American ever to be made an honorary Veteran of America s Armed Forces, Bob Hope holds a special place in the national security pantheon. He called the troops his "best friends," and he made it his mission to be with them wherever they served, regardless of distance or danger. To many of our forces from across the generations, Bob Hope s visits were a taste of home in a far-off land; a moment of mirth in the middle of war, and a loud and clear message to our military that America honored their service and prayed for their safe return. Bob Hope s final tour, at age [90], took him to the Persian Gulf and the men and women of Desert Storm. Although he is no longer with us in life, he will always remain, just as he was, in our hearts -- cracking jokes, boosting morale, and reminding all the world of what it means to be an American. With profound gratitude for his decades of service to our country, we extend our deepest sympathy to his family and many friends. [Web Version: http://www.dod.mil/releases/2003/nr20030728-0262.html] And from Secretary of State Colin Powell: Tribute to Bob Hope Secretary Colin L. Powell Washington, DC July 28, 2003 Bob Hope was a friend to every American GI for over 50 years. I watched him perform in Vietnam in 1968 and became his friend in later years, to include even doing a skit with him on stage. There was no one who served his nation more faithfully and with greater dedication in both war and peace. He will be greatly missed.
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