For anyone who was ever in the military from 1941 through 1990, one of the highlights of the Christmas season was the possibility to a visit by Bob Hope and his USO troupe to your base. He started stateside in California in 1941 and from then until his last trip in 1990 he brought a little bit of home to the troops in some of the most desolate places on earth during each war or conflict where they were deployed.
He did shows on aircraft carrier decks, in open fields at army bases and in rear areas. He was always accompanied by several other entertainers and most important to the thousands of men, (my apologies to any lady who reads this) a couple of beautiful female dancers, singers or perhaps those with no talent who just looked good. The shows were free, open seating, no pulling rank to get a front seat, however if he was at or near a hospital you could always find a row or two of wheelchair and other medical devices down front.
I never got to see a show in person, but I did hear two of them live on a radio during Viet Nam. In 1968 I was on a four day patrol and at the designated time, we were just setting up an ambush site when he came on the radio. I turned our PRC 25 (if you have to ask….) to the right frequency and listened for a few minutes until it got to be too dangerous to have him on the radio and not have it on the right frequency. My RTO (see above) wanted to listen through a set of headphones but since I was a Lieutenant and he wasn’t, I won.
The next time I got close to a Bob Hope Christmas show was in 1970. I was in the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam and got called in to our Corps Headquarters for a Top Secret briefing. I had no idea what it was about. We’re invading North Viet Nam? Cambodia? It’s over? The President was coming to town? Nothing as mundane as that. We were required to show our identification cards, secured in a briefing room, and waited for a 2 star general to arrive. Once he came in, his briefing officer put a slide on the overhead projector (again, see above) and the TS briefing began. We were being given Bob Hope’s itinerary and travel route. Five days later, a helicopter flew over our outpost at the end of the world in the Delta and the pilot informed me that he had Bob Hope on board. Hope had a call sign which I can’t remember now, but he did not use his name for security purposes.
Years later, I had to pleasure of meeting him in Los Angeles and he was a genuine gentleman in every sense of the word. The reason for this trip down amnesia lane? Today was an incredibly powerful day as President George H.W. Bush was laid to rest. I not only met but I worked for 41 in Washington, DC. As I watched the funeral, it was hard not to get emotional and I thought of the Bob Hope show. He always ended his show with Silent Night. To this day I can’t hear that song without a tear in my eye.
No joke. No cute ending here. Just a fond memory and a fond farewell to two icons.
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