Tribute To Bob Hope
I was 19 years old, going through my AIT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, spring, 1968, when I first saw Bob Hope. I don't remember much about the show, whether he had other entertainers with him or not, but I do remember him on stage and telling jokes holding that famous golf club. I remember marching in formation to the show and the female soldiers cheering us as we entered the area where the show was taking place. What a warm reception which was in sharp contrast to the antiwar and anti-GI sentiment that was taking place across the cities of America at that time. I got to Vietnam on 28 August 68 and went to Company A, 27th Combat Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade. For some reason my First Sergeant entered me in the Battalion Soldier of the Month competition and I lucked out and won the title. One of my rewards was to fly down from Phu Bai to DaNang and see the Bob Hope Christmas Show of 1968. That is one memory of my Vietnam Experience that will never fade from my mind. Bob Hope, Ann Margret, Rosie Grier, Dick Albers, The Gold Diggers, Ms. World and Linda Bennet sang, danced and made us laugh for over two hours. After the show I got real close to Mr. Hope, other GI's were tossing their hats for him to autograph but I had no such luck. About 2 years ago, I got the chance to meet and thank Ms. Ann-Margret in person for coming to Vietnam when she was starring in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas at Cleveland's Palace Theater; a theater that Mr. Hope played many times during his career. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Hope, it is now God's turn to laugh.
240th AHC Flightline |
