Dubbed America's Ambassador of Goodwill,
Bob Hope conducted more than 1,000 USO> shows between the years of
1942 and 1990. He has been given numerous honors by the services
and by various presidents. The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)
has given awards to Mr. Hope on four occassions, beginning in 1946 and including “honorary
veteran”. In fact, comedian Alan King quipped, "he's got more medals than Congress."
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Check out the article about him and his forrays to entertain the troops
across the world and across the decades in the “VFW MAGAZINE”,
the December issue --- 1999, written by Stan Welli
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Song: "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
(If this song doesn't hit a melancholy chord in
your heart, then, well, you just weren't there
This page is, in a way, a means in saying
"thanks for the memories" to one who repeatedly sacrificed Christmas with family and friends in the comfort and
safety of his own home, to bring cheer and encouragement to thousands he
didn't know in the middle of a war. So, thanks to Bob Hope and the hundreds
who accompanied him throughout the years. This, too, is service to one's
country and he did more "tours" in Viet Nam than anybody else!
The commanding general of Lai Khe Base Camp
came onto the stage to thank the troupe of actors and musicians for the show and to thank us for attending.
He informed us that an L. R. P. (pronounced lerp and stands for Long Range Patrol)
team had been out the night before and had uncovered and destroyed a number of rocket implacemnets. The
devices were crude but ef- fective and were aimed for the area in which the show would be held
the next day. So great was the morale factor the show brought to the GIs that the NVA
and the Viet Cong thought it a threat to be dealt with in such a manner.
Merry Christmas!
And thanks a lot for stopping by and for sharing the memory.
This page was updated, August, 2003, after the passing of a grand entertainer and a great fan of our country, Bob Hope, July, of 2003, at age 100. This page
was originally created for Christmas, 1999, last updated, December 25, 2003.
This Page and pictures copyright
belongs to C. David Coyle