Dec 22, 2016
Bob Hope: The USO’s One-Man Morale Machine
By Ann Oldenburg. Ann Oldenburg is a Washington area-based freelance writer and former Washington Post and USA Today writer. This story appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of On Patrol, the magazine of the USO. Thursday, Feb 4, 2016
— Original version of the article can be found online at https://www.uso.org/stories/154-bob-hope-the-uso-s-one-man-morale-machine
He started his career in the 1920s as a vaudeville comedian, but was needed to bring laughter to a different kind of venue. Hope lightened the mood in deadly serious situations. And he thrived on the crowd’s response. “They were just amazing audiences—with their courage and their love of laughter and humor,” Linda said. “I think one can’t be near that in large doses and not be touched. It was always something he felt compelled to do.”