A national tribute to Bob Hope and the military.
What better way to make the transition from the Korean War back to WWII than with paying a tribute to a man who went far out of his way to bring servicemen and women a smile!
Posted on May 1, 2014, in Korean War, Uncategorized, Vietnam, WWII and tagged Army, family history, History, Korean War, Military, Military History, Navy, nostalgia, veterans, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 67 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
A great tribute to a great man.
That nose and chin always gave more laughter to his jokes.
Ian
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I know what you mean, if he had gotten a nose job, he would have been finished!
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I loved watching the USO shows on TV. Seeing the joy on those men made me teary eyed
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I know exactly what you mean, Ana! I think it was those faces that made the trip addictive to Hope; he DID say they were his best audience. Our guys today sure could use a dose of Hope.
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Does uso still do tours or did that die with Hope? You don’t hear about them
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Oh yes, they are still around!
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So glad to hear that. It’s so important to morale. My father did 3 tours in Vietnam, I can’t imagine what that must have been like.
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He obviously had quite the stamina, mentally and physically. You must be very proud of him.
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I am. He had it better than most. He was in communications and didn’t engage the north Vietnamese
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Good for him!
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There’s not much I can add to all the other comments already made. I do miss Bob Hope and a bunch of the other old comedians.
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I have found that people want to say so much about the man that they have to words to express it.
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You know what’s cooler, gpcox? It’s only 90 minutes away…with no traffic! 🙂 Nice reblog.
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Oh, fantastic! 🙂
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BUONA GIORNATA! 🙂
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Grazie per la visita, Somona.
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So glad that they have the monument and memorials to him. I remember watching the shows and agree that he had a real love for the military. I wish I still had it but in high school wrote a letter to him thanking him for all that he did for the military. He sent a picture and signed the bottom ‘Thanks for the Memories’.
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How wonderful! What a memento for you to have, Kathy! It’s nice to hear he responded, but I suppose I should have expected that!
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It got lost over the years and sure wish I had it still. I went to the library and they had a book ” Who Who in America” and his address was listed in there.
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A shame it was lost.
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Bob Hope’s reepect for US service people was the most genuine of any celebrity. I believe that he felt it whenever he thought of every soul that perished each day that he told jokes, planned film productions and television appearances and socialized with America’s elite. I believe that he felt a tremendous need to pay it back, and he tried by entertaining and doing all the things he did for the people of Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and National Guard, and their families.
Quite a man.
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You pegged him exactly right, Allan! I also liked that he showed the American people the films of him being over there (wherever the troops were), to try and bring that spirit home and spark the patriotism he felt. Your comment is fantastic, thank you.
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What a great idea! What a happy sculpture and with so much about it for people to relate to and remember.
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Yup, no one has to be in the military to understand this post! Hope made the rounds into everyone’s home.
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I still listen to the Bob Hope show in my old time classic channel on my XM radio, too funny..:-)
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I can understand that, Ed. His type of comedy never goes out of style. Some comedians you can listen to so much, you know the routines by heart and – they’re still funny!
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I just bought the best of Jack Benny, 18+ hours of pure comedy genius and to get to see all the stars who were on his show, including Bob Hope..:-)
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Oh, I adore all those old shows – back when you didn’t have to pay millions just to get one celebrity on your show like today. They had fresh material all the time and didn’t feel they had to curse their fool heads off to try and sound funny!! That’s what I call a professional and Benny was another in that great generation of pros!
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I remember the Bob Hope shows during the Vietnam War. My family always enjoyed watching them on TV.
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Oh yes! I remember those now that you mention it; they used to bring me to tears seeing the men grasping at every second of fun they could get. Great memory, Sheryl.
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Thanks so much for posting. Bob Hope was really one in a million!
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Yes he was, Elizabeth. A unique and kind man.
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Been there. He was a wonderful entertainer for our troops.
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So many of us didn’t know this memorial existed. It looks so lifelike! I don’t know of anyone who didn’t like him!
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I might not have known except my daughter was a plankholder on the USS San Diego so I got to attend the christening. What an event!
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I can only imagine – maybe someday…
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Love that man! Always have, always will! I wasn’t aware of that memorial. Very cool! 🙂
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It was a new one on me, Linda, but I was thrilled to find this post on the San Diego site! I was wondering how to calmly transition from Korea back into the 1920s-’30s and WWII – and – there it was! HOPE!
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Good one! 🙂
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Thanks, Linda. I appreciate that.
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I had the privileged of working Bob Hope only once. Every good thing you hear about the man is absolutely true. He had a reputation of being a favorite for stagehands for all his career. And of course, a favorite of our military personnel. Thanks for this post, GP.
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And thank you, Don for proving to us that everything we believed about Hope was true!! (It’s sad when an idol has to be taken down a peg.)
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I’d never heard of this memorial! He truly was a national treasure, and hundreds of thousands of men and women must have seen him in war theatres and abroad doing his shows. A wonderful tribute to the USO and one of the greats of American comedy.
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I hadn’t heard of it either, another reason I reblogged it! Thanks for coming by today!
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Great man, comedian, and memorial.
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Isn’t it tho – I appreciate you stopping in Jim and reading it! Thanks.
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He always made me laugh with his wit and delivery. Doing that for the hundreds of thousands he touched with his USO visits is awesome. They all deserved to laugh.
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Yes, they did, Jim. Hope did wonders for morale.
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I can’t believe we missed this thanks so much!!
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No problem – you’re seeing it now. Thanks for reading, Georgia.
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My pleasure I enjoy your Blog
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Thank you very much.
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He was very long-lived, too. Laughter is the best medicine.
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Good point, Swabby!! 🙂
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This is wonderful – such a great tribute. Thank you for bringing this to my awareness and of course to others, gpcox. It is the deeds such as those of Bob Hope that complete the caring for the mind and souls of those in battles – for battles fought were and are for the whole community and soldiers deserve many forms of gratitude such as the ones Hope went out of his way to show.
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Thank you for that comment – every word is true! Thanks, Ina.
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😀
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“ya gotta feel sorry for the folks back home, they can’t get any powdered eggs … they have to make do with the old-fashioned kind, the ones you break open …”
Love the guy~!
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Wasn’t he something!
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The guy was brilliant~!
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Yes, I agree! A very nice man with a genius for comedy. Thanks for coming by, Argus.
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Some people give back from their hearts. He was one of them. A great American.
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Yes, he was and everyone loved him for it.
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I love statues like this. There is one at the Richard Nixon Museum and I thought I had walked into a meeting at first.
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Amazing detail, isn’t?! I love these memorials as well, that’s why when I spotted this, I had to copy the address for just this occasion. Thanks for stopping in, Dan.
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That’s so great. Really captures the spirit of Bob Hope.
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Yes it does! I couldn’t resist it.
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