Many of the service members in the crowd during this last USO tour had a grandfather who had seen Hope perform in WWII or Korea, as well as a father who had seen Hope perform in Vietnam. Bob Hope and Lola Falana, right, perform for thousands of U.S. troops stationed in Vietnam in 1970. In 1983, he spent Christmas with U.S. troops in Beirut and in December 1988, performed on bases and ships in the Persian Gulf. I remember saying, Why does Dad always have to be away? They arrived late and the show was over and this one fellow was saying how disappointed he was. Its a scene that played out again and again for nearly 50 yearsfrom World War II, through Vietnam, to the Gulf War. Funds are paid by Greater Good Charities to benefiting organizations as a grant. The group took a break from their act in the mid-1950s, but later continued to perform. While the US Navy offered Hope a commission at the rank of lieutenant commander during the Second World War, Hope never served in the military himself. The USO is a not-for-profit organization and not part of the Department of Defense (DoD). A deadly April 14, 1988, car bombing outside a USO center in Naples, Italy, altered the definition of hazard duty and rattled perceptions of safety for American service members, military families and USO employees and volunteers. And his buddies kept asking him if shes got a sister!, Hed also poke fun at himself: Working in a war zone is great for a comedian. Vicki Lawrence. The people back at home loved hearing something from a base from where one of their loved ones was stationed, Linda said. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BOB HOPE SIGNED PROGRAM INSERT 1975 USO MAN OF THE YEAR DINNER at the best online prices at eBay! Throughout April, the Month of the Military Child, the USO is highlighting how our centers around the globe are providing creative ways for military children to connect to one another and their families. Bob Hope entertains troops in Saudi Arabia in 1990. The number of men and women deployed to the front lines may be fewer today, but the USO is becoming more expeditionary to meet their needs. The first Bob Hope USO Christmas Show for the troops was in December of 1948, during the Berlin Airlift. In retrospect, it was these performances that endeared Hope into the hearts and minds of patriotic citizens for years to come. These included a series of seven Road to . Your donations help the USO deliver world-class entertainment to service members and military families around the world. Here, while on a tour stop, Hope speaks with Hal Block, Barney Dean, Gen. George Patton, Frances Langford and Tony Romano in August 1943. Hope set a precedent for all entertainers who followed in his path. The final Bob Hope Christmas Show from Vietnam was recorded in 1972. Photo credit USO Archives. But usually we didnt hear about it until he came back. President Bill Clinton named Hope an Honorary Veteran in 1997, to which Hope said, Ive been given many awards in my lifetime but to be numbered among the men and women I admire most is the greatest honor I have ever received.. He got a real connection with the guys that were serving, Linda said. From that first show, Hope would go on to entertain the troops for nearly 50 years, through World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanon Civil War, the Iran-Iraq War and the Persian Gulf War. Already an established comedian and actor by the onset of World War II, Bob Hope performed and broadcast his first USO show on the radio for service members on May 6, 1941, at an Army Air Corps (now known as the U.S. Air Force) Base at March Field in Riverside, California. During this and the many WWII USO Camp Show trips that followed, Hope hosted dozens of variety-style shows featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Santa Ana, CA 92707, 210 North El Cielo, Suite 102 In late 1942, Bob Hope headed on his first USO tour outside of the continental U.S. to Alaska, which was then a U.S. territory. The Andrews Sisters were a popular singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie music eras. (Above) Bob . Americans back on the home front, too, eagerly watched Hopes holiday specials, hoping to catch a glimpse of their soldier serving overseas. She scored a hit with the 1966 song, These Boots Are Made For Walkin. I was in a USMC Combined Action Unit (K-1) unit on Hoa Me Island at the entrance to Chu Lai with approximately 12 other Marines. Another guy named ski let me take his spot as he had seen it the year before. It was this USO trip that inspired Hope to begin his tradition of entertaining the military community during the holiday season. This program includes footage - previously unreleased - which was obtained from various armed services sources, as well as excerpts from previous . Here's a look at 10 of the greatest performers to grace the USO stage. A few years later, in 1957, Bob Hope headed overseas to Guam and Japan for a holiday tour. This story appears in the Spring 2016 issue of On Patrol, the magazine of the USO. 2023 USO, Inc. So he would rearrange the schedule., Traveling on USO tours with Hope is an experience Shields, 50, said shell never forget. A platoon in the South Pacific had marched to get to this base where Dad was doing some shows. Crouch II joined government, nonprofit and corporate leaders at the Starbucks Support Center in Seattle to open a dialogue about how best to help transitioning veterans reintegrate into the civilian workforce and their communities. A year later, in December 1948, Hope and his USO troupe (which included Irving Berlin at the time) recorded a Bob Hope Show radio episode in front of troops stationed in Germany supporting the Berlin Airlift, at the request of the Pentagon. Here, Hope shakes hands with a service member in Southeast Asia in 1969. Bob Hopes name has become synonymous with the USO, and there can be no greater honor. Soon after, he began traveling overseas to visit troops in the European and Pacific Theatres. For more stories about veterans and military history, check out our TogetherWeServed Blog. Service members can walk into participating USO locations, record themselves reading their childs favorite story and have that recording shipped home. Copyright 2003-2021. I made Sergeant in 2 yrs 6 months but decided not to stay in the service. I won miss congeniality that year & hit to meet Bob Hope. As a longtime supporter of the military and a military brat herself, Debbie Keller has dedicated thousands of hours to supporting service members and their military family members at the USO center in Orlando, Florida - and now is being recognized for her efforts, as the 2023 CONUS Volunteer of the Year. Though he wore many hats as an entertainer, starting out as a dancer, film actor, and radio comedian, Bob Hope is perhaps best remembered as the driving force behind the USO . Fun fact: After 1948, Hopes radio show changed names to The Bob Hope Show. Over the next few decades, his various specials on television and radio would fall under several names and iterations of this new show name. They were a reminder of home and a reminder that even as they served miles away, the folks back home in the U.S. still remembered them. Many of the photos below havent been published in decades if at all so its unlikely youll find them anywhere else. Though the annual tradition ended at this point, the end of Hopes time in Vietnam was not the end of Hopes USO tours or his holiday-time military shows. USO centers have served and supported military members and their families for the past 75 years. Gloria Loring. He woke me up and said, Were over the water and theres a ship that has 2,700 men down below and theyre kind of asleep right now but the admiral would like you to say something to them.. -This story was originally published on USO.org in 2018. However, his future undertakings with the USO were inspired by this trip and the warm welcome and gratitude from the servicemen and women in Berlin. Here, Bob Hope performs on stage in 1991 at a celebratory event. Throughout the 1970s, Bob Hope continued entertaining troops all around the world. In 1964, Hope took the first of nine USO trips to Vietnam to record special holiday episodes of his show and he never went alone. Hope made his television debut on the inaugural broadcast of Los Angeles station KTLA in January 1947 and appeared on various television shows, particularly Christmas specials and various entertainment specials for the U.S. Armed Forces. Offered through Bob Hope USO. Every day, Americas service members selflessly put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free. On account of that general saying were not ready, my opening line was, Are you ready? And they went wild. I soon went to MTT-1 and after a few months we ended up in Tam Ky about 3 miles inland from the water. There's a lump the size of Grant's Tomb in your throat when they come up to you and shake your hand and mumble 'Thanks.' People dont think of the fact that the Les Brown band traveled with Dad for so many yearsto Korea first and Vietnam. I never thought to find out his name. CA. Being stationed overseas can be difficult for every member of a military family, but especially for military children, who often have to constantly adapt to new environments and remain resilient through every new move. Comedian Redd Foxx, singer Lola Falana, and a dozen American Beauties, among others, joined Hope on that tour. All rights reserved. By providing your mobile phone number, you opt in to receive calls and texts from USO. She told jokes and played cards with us, treated our wounds She was one of us.. But among the more than 180 USO locations around the world, two of the newest were built specifically to address the needs of wounded, ill and injured service members and their caregivers. Johnny Grant, Jayne Mansfield, Bob Hope, Hedda Hopper and others on a Holiday USO tour in 1957. From his first show at March Field in Riverside, California, in 1941, to his final USO tour in 1990 to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as part . Throughout the 1960s, Bob Hope hosted several other USO Holiday Tours. She kept up her morale-boosting tours through the Korean War and had the troops in stitches during Vietnam and sometimes pulled rankthough her Marine Corps and Army ranks and membership in the Green Berets were all honorary. In 2015, after recognizing the need for an increased presence in military communities both stateside and abroad, the USO launched an aggressive center expansion effort to bring connectivity, entertainment and programming to more service members and families. A few even met their future husbands while dancing the night away. for directions to Bob Hope USO Headquarters, for directions to Los Angeles International Airport, for directions to John Wayne Orange County Airport, for directions to Palm Springs International Airport, for directions to Ontario International Airport, for directions to Military Entrance Processing Station, Los Angeles, for directions to March ARB Joint Regional Deployment Center, Military Entrance Processing Station, Los Angeles, March ARB Joint Regional Deployment Center. The joke became I did more Bob Hope shows than he did, Shields said. I think whatever he was involved with was the favorite tour.. Ontario, CA 91761, 1776 East Grand Avenue Linda got a firsthand taste of USO tours when she began producing her fathers television specials, something she did for the last 20 years of his performances. Here, Hope performs for service members and their families in Fairbanks, Alaska. Raquel Welch teamed up with Bob Hope and others in 1967 and traveled to Saigon, Vietnam, to perform a TV special. Im sure I speak for many vets, not only Vietnam, but also Korea and WWII. As time went by and Hopes shows became more of a staple, he assembled a team of regular collaborators: Tony Romano, the musician. The USO relies on your support to help service members and their families. In 1961, Hope headed on a USO Holiday tour to Iceland, Greenland and northeast Canada. Bob Hope performs for service men at Munda Airstrip in the Solomon Islands in October 1944. He wasnt getting the looks he wanted from employers, so he turned to USO partner Hire Heroes USA for help. After 15 years in the Air Force, Doug Watjus left the military armed with a degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA. 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