Comic Bob Hope gave his final Christmas present to U.S. servicemen in Saigon on at the present time in historical past, Dec. 24, 1972.
The enduring entertainer, who starred in additional than 50 movies, saved up a convention of visiting troops deployed abroad since WWII.
Hope’s 1972 present marked his ninth consecutive Christmas look in Vietnam, in line with Historical past.com.
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Hope took his first USO journey to Vietnam in 1964 to report a particular vacation episode of “The Bob Hope Present.”
The seasonal particular quickly grew to become a smash hit — and he by no means confirmed up alone.
Bob Hope and Carroll Baker aboard the Ticonderoga, off the coast of Vietnam, in 1972. (CORBIS/Corbis through Getty Photographs)
He typically introduced in main celebrities every year.
Amongst those that did reveals with him: Ann-Margret, Lola Falana, Raquel Welch, Rosie Grier, Neil Armstrong and Sammy Davis Jr.
Comic Bob Hope and actress Raquel Welch break by means of a embellished package deal labeled “To the G.I.’s” moments earlier than boarding a MATS airline as Hope and his troupe of 60 folks departed on his seventeenth annual Christmas tour of abroad army bases on Dec. 15, 1967. (Getty Photographs)
Hope’s longtime sideman Jerry Colonna was additionally recognized for taking part in Santa Claus, in line with the USO.
Service members — in addition to People who intently watched the specials in hopes of catching a glimpse of their troopers — bear in mind Hope’s Vietnam-era excursions fondly.
Comic Bob Hope stands at a microphone on stage as crowds of United States troops watch the Christmas present he placed on for troops on the Camp Eagle military base, southeast of Hue, Vietnam, on Dec. 22, 1970. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Photographs)
In later reflections highlighted by USO, troopers who had been chosen to attend Hope’s efficiency in individual bear in mind their disbelief at seeing Hope in individual, in addition to different celebrities — in addition to being issued clear uniforms.
As Hope’s time in Vietnam got here to an finish, he mirrored on the final twenty years of spreading pleasure to America’s troops.
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“I hope I may be excused a little bit sentimentality as I look again over 22 of those Christmas journeys [and remember] the thousands and thousands of servicemen and ladies who responded to our efforts with heat, enthusiasm and affection,” he mentioned, in line with USO.
Hope was honored with South Vietnam’s highest civilian medal for his “anti-communist zeal” after endorsing then-president Richard Nixon’s bombing of North Korea.
Though he was criticized for supporting authorities insurance policies regarding the warfare, Hope believed it was his duty to “raise spirits by entertaining the troops,” as Historical past.com reviews.
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Bob Hope lived to be 100 years previous.
On the morning of July 27, 2003, he handed away of pneumonia at his house in Toluca Lake, California, two months after his one centesimal birthday.
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