Most Bloggers Have Disdain

for a lot of the present day, ultra-liberal Hollywood turkeys. But there is one exception: Bob Hope. I don't know his exact birthday but NBC was celebrating his 100th tonight with a special about his life. Unfortunately I tuned in late so didn't see the entire show but there were many clips of his trips to entertain our military both in the states and overseas.

I was fortunate enough to see him do a show when I was on temporary duty at Wheelus AFB in Tripoli. This was in the mid-60s before Khadafi took over Libya from King Idris and our lease on the land Wheelus sat on expired. For the life of me I can't remember if it was 1963 or 1964 but it seems like '64 would be the date because there's no recollection of it being near the Kennedy assassination. (I was TDY at Wheelus when that happened, too.)

Whatever the case, I remember the show was held on a baseball field and Mr. Hope did his classic performance. Over the years I have seen several compilations of his shows and they never showed him as he really was. He knew how to work with GIs and could cuss with the best of them. Much of that was edited for TV audiences. We loved every minute of it.

I've never heard a derogatory word spoken about Bob Hope. And as far as I'm concerned, there can be none. He is a great American who was tireless in his effort to help our GIs forget about the horror of war or home sickness. Compare that to Hollywood types who could care less about our troops. Happy Birthday and thanks for the memories, Mr. Hope.