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Bob Hope's Vietnam Christmas ToursBy Judith Johnson | Vietnam Missions | Single Page | 8 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post  Bob Hope was always the star and began each show by strutting on stage with his golf club, firing off jokes tailored to each base. And he always brought the outstanding glamour star from back home. On the 1967 tour, actress Raquel Welch joined Hope on stage to add a few crowd-pleasing dance moves to Bob's rendition of "Dancin in the Streets." (All photos: National Archives) "And did you read where President Johnson just requested another $50 billion to cover the rising cost of the war? Wouldn't it be awful if we ran out of money and they repossessed the war?" One of the few constants of the Vietnam War—one eagerly anticipated by American troops, that is—was the annual Bob Hope Christmas Show. From 1964 to 1972, Hope included South Vietnam on his annual trips to visit troops during the holiday season, a tradition that started for him during World War II. "Back in 1941, at March Field, California…I still remember fondly that first soldier audience," Hope once said. "I looked at them, they laughed at me, and it was love at first sight." Subscribe Today
While only a small fraction of the 2.5 million troops who served in Southeast Asia actually got to attend Hope's performances, for those who did he managed to break the monotony, ease the loneliness and give the troops in combat zones across Vietnam a couple of hours of laughter—and a memory for a lifetime. Bob Hope's classic opening monologues of rapid-fire jokes always took jabs at the GIs and the specifics of the local situation. Under a hot sun or a driving rain, his young audiences laughed and cheered the legendary comedian and his cast of singers, dancers and the musicians of Les Brown and his Band of Renown. Hope's shtick included a constant, sometimes bawdy banter with the other performers, taking plenty of shots at the absurdities of military life while conveying a real sense of how difficult it was for the troops to be away from home during the holidays. Hope began taking his show on the road after the United States entered World War II and the United Service Organization (USO) started sending Hollywood and radio entertainers to perform for military audiences at bases in North Africa, Europe and the South Pacific. Already a giant movie and radio star, Hope traveled overseas six times, logging more than a million miles during World War II. At the outset of the Cold War in 1948, when the Soviets closed all ground travel from West Germany to Berlin, Hope's show followed the reserves sent by President Harry Truman to facilitate the airlift into the western sectors of Berlin. Later, Hope traveled to Korea in the early 1950s after North Korean troops invaded South Korea, and all during the 1950s his show played at military bases in Japan. By the 1960s, Hope's Christmas shows for troops overseas had become a fixture of America's traditional holiday season. At Bien Hoa Air Base on Christmas Eve: As early as 1962, Hope wanted to go to Vietnam to perform for the growing contingent of American military advisers. Although planning moved at a steady pace for a 1963 show, the Pentagon ultimately pulled the plug on it because of what it considered too high a risk. Nevertheless, at age 61, Hope persisted and won approval for his first Vietnam shows in December 1964. With his new destination came a new twist to the shows: They would be filmed to be broadcast as holiday specials in early January of the next year. These filmed productions required a new level of effort in organization and execution to bring them to a new domestic audience. Hope remained the star and the driving force behind his tours. Other leading performers such as Connie Stevens, Ann-Margret and Joey Heatherton welcomed the opportunity to join him, despite the stress of travel into a far-flung war zone and the hardships they encountered there. Hope's Vietnam engagements were among the most dangerous ever for the funnyman and his entertainers. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
            Tags: People, Social History, Vietnam War, World War II
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8 Comments to “Bob Hope's Vietnam Christmas Tours”
What issue of Vietnam did the Bob Hope article appear in
By kevin anderson on Jan 14, 2010 at 5:28 pm
The Bob Hope article is in the February 2010 edition of Vietnam magazine, which is the one currently on newsstands.
By GeraldS on Jan 15, 2010 at 12:19 am
I had the real honor of attending two Hope Christmas Specials. The first was at the USAF base at Korat, Thailand, in 1966, and the second was at An Khe, South Vietnam in 1967. There is no way that any of us who were there or anny other Hope show has nothing less than respect and gratitude for him and the whole troupe. I will always have tears in my eyes when I remember singinf "Silent Night" with Anita. Bob Hope and the gang were one of the only bright parts in my back-to-back tours, and I will always be grateful for what they brought and the courage it took for them to do it. He had our back!
By Anthony McClure on Jan 15, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I saw Bob Hope in Lai Khe in 67 or 68 and hewas great with Raquel Welch and others, he is the greatest thing to come out of England with Tony Blair running a close second. Black Lion Sir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Al on Jan 19, 2010 at 2:19 am
In 1969 I had just returned to Cu Chi base camp from an extended stay in the hospital.I had good timing, the Bob Hope show was in camp. That show did me a lot of good, and for a while there was no war. A very brave man, that Bob Hope. He is greatly missed, but also fondly remembered.
By steve gray on Feb 11, 2010 at 12:03 am
I saw Bob Hope's Christmas show in Da Nang in 1967. He may have wanted the Grunts to sit down front, but I had 11 months in Vietnam at the time and I was so far up on Freedom Hill that Ann Margaret looked like a four inch animated doll to the few of us from Alpha 1/7 of the 1st Marine Division who were allowed to attend the show. There were some wounded men down front, but most of the men in front of us were pogues from the rear who really had no reason to be there in the first place. We protected their sorry asses and they got all the bennies. Marine Grunts in Vietnam had it very hard, but that is the subject for another time.
By Tim Phillips, 1stSgt, USMC Retired on Mar 17, 2010 at 8:36 am
My father and life long hero was the billotiing chief of the Brinks when this bombing occured. Let's get something clear on this subject, and that is what really led to this attack being succesful. Bob Hope was so worried about security that my dads marine guards were pulled off the Brinks to provide security for Hope. South Vietnamese soldiers were guarding the Brinks and they just did not do their job. The marines would have properly inspected the car and not allowed it in the parking area. You could not be sure that the South Vietnamese soldiers were not viet cong. My father had just walked from the Brinks to the Ambassador 5 minutes before the explosion and was sitting in a chair when the explosion occured. The airconditioning unit in the window was thrown into the room and the chair he was sitting on was lifted into the air from the concusion. The way Bope hope commented on the Brinks flying by doesn't cut it. My dad was super upset when Hopes Troops asked my dad to help them get liquor during this crisis. My dad knew the lieutenant who died in this exposion. Dad was not a big fan of Bob Hope to begin with, and after this incident he thougt Hope was a real jerk. When Hope and his troops left their hotel they owed $10,000 in expenses and did not pay. Since this happened you could not pay me enough money to watch a Bop Hope Movie. I was only 9 years old at the time.,Chief Les Norlin was in Saigon for 1 year, till Dec of 1965. He went back for 6 months on the destroyer escort Keyes. He retired after this, having served during WWII, Korea, and Viet-Nam. The people running the show were not doing the job. The Navy was no longer what it should be. After my sophmore year at Millikan High School I received a letter from the naval academy at Annapolis, saying that I had a chance to go there. I never considered going and what happened at the Brinks and the way the Viet-Nam confict was being handled led to my decision. not to go. God bless the men and women who fight the fight for our country. Never compromise their safety
By Les Norlin on May 13, 2010 at 2:40 am
I was assigned to the 118th Assault Helicopter Company at Bien Hoa Air Base in 1970-71. I was the Unit Duty Officer on Christmas Eve 1970, so I was off duty on Christmas Day. I was sleeping that morning, when a buddy knocked on my door. I thought that someone was sick and a replacement pilot was needed. I responded with, "I had duty last night and I'm not flying today". His response was, "A truck is leaving for Long Bien to see the Bob Hope Show, If you want to go, you had better have your a– at the orderly room in 30 minutes". Needless to say, I got out of bed, dressed, grabbed my Super 8 movie camera and hoofed it over to the orderly room. I rode in a "Deuce and a half" to Long Bien, arriving approximately an hour prior to the start of the show. I watched Bob Hope arrive in a black Chrysler. Besides Bob, I was able to see Les Brown and the Band of Renown, Johnny Bench, Lola Falana, Miss World 1970 (Jennifer Hosten), Gloria Loring, The Golddiggers and The Ding-A-Ling Sisters. I had a great time! I will always have fond memories of Bob Hope. He brought a little bit of the USA to me and countless other GIs.
By Wayne Guffy, CW4, USA (Ret.) on May 31, 2010 at 10:25 pm