His first performance for service members was at March Field, California, May 6, 1941. His first combat zone USO tour in 1943 was visiting U.S. forces in North Africa, Italy and Sicily. The first Bob Hope Christmas USO tour was in 1948, performing for the GIs who participated in the Berlin Airlift. The Bob Hope Christmas USO tour became a USO tradition, and he visited military bases and veterans' hospitals every December for the next 34 years. In 1969, President Lyndon Johnson bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon Bob Hope for his service to the men and women of the armed forces through the USO. Bob Hope made his final USO tour in December 1990, bringing Christmas cheer to troops participating in Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In 1997, the USO successfully worked with Congress to designate Bob Hope the first honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces. - At the 1997 USO Holiday Gala, the USO unveiled the "Spirit of Hope" Award. It is a portrait bas-relief of Bob Hope, created by St. Louis sculptor Don F. Wiegand and Michael Fagin a major donor to the USO.
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Bob Hope entertaining
the troops in Vietnam. |
