It may seem strange to write an article about Bob Hope, but you may not be aware that in 1997 Congress honored him by declaring him the “first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.” He has flown millions of miles to entertain GIs during both wartime and peace. His contribution to the USO began in 1941 and ended with Operation Desert Shield in 1991, spending 48 Christmases overseas with American service personnel. He was always treated as “an asset to the U.S. Government with his willingness to entertain whenever they needed him.” After WWII was declared over, the USO sent out an “impassioned bulletin” asking entertainers not to abandon GIs. Hope was the first to say yes. The Military Order of the Purple Heart notes that “his contributions to the USO are well known: they are legend.”
I was a medic during the Korean War working in the base hospital. Bob Hope visited with a USO team. Hope went and sat on the bed of a patient suffering from a deep depression that the doctors could not help. The patient laid there silently for weeks. Hope sat with him for about half an hour. When he got up and started to leave, the patient sat up and began waving and saying goodbye to him. The doctors were shocked, but now were able to treat him. He was discharged from the hospital two weeks later and returned to his unit.
As a result of his non-stop entertainment to both the civilian population and the military, he received numerous other honors:
• A C-17 Air Force plane was named The Spirit of Bob Hope.
• A naval vessel was named USNS Bob Hope.
• Streets, schools, hospitals and a golf tournament were also named in his honor.
• The Guinness Book of World Records called him the most honored entertainer ever.
During his 1993 televised birthday celebration when he turned 90, General Colin Powell saluted Hope “for his tireless USO trouping”, which was followed by onstage tributes from all branches of the armed forces. General William Westmoreland spoke about his loyalty to the GI throughout the Vietnam years. One of the generals said Hope was a first rate military target since he was worth a division; that’s about 15,000 men. Presumably the Nazis appreciated Hope’s value, as they bombed towns while the comic was there. In 1943, Hope and his troupe would do 300 miles in a jeep, and give four shows.
During the Vietnam War, Hope produced a number of high-rated television specials and began to perceive that the U.S. media had given him a broad endorsement to continue his work in Vietnam. Soon after his Christmas show in Saigon in 1967, he learned that the Viet Cong had planned to launch an attack at the hotel Hope’s troupe was staying at, missing them by ten minutes.
In the spring of 1973, Hope began writing his fifth book. The Last Christmas Show which was dedicated to “men and women of the armed forces and to those who also served by worrying and waiting.” He signed over his royalties to the USO.