More Than Memories

Radio and TV outlets began playing Bob Hope's theme song early yesterday, as soon as news of his death became known. "Thanks for the Memories" is undoubtedly the headline of choice today for tributes to Hope, who was born in England and who died the most honored American entertainer in modern history. Still, it's worth remembering that Bob Hope's legacy is about a lot more than memories -- at least the kind suggested in those innocently romantic lyrics about lazy afternoons and the way we danced together.

It's about a comedian who proved willing to brave all dangers -- and his own fears about flying -- to travel to every war zone to entertain the troops, from the earliest years of World War II to the Gulf War. In one of the film clips of his journeys, Hope tells the laughing troops in the audience that he had no idea where he was. Those who knew the extent of his travels -- to jungles to aircraft carriers, to the most remote places anywhere U.S. troops were deployed -- could well believe him.

He did his comic routine over the noise of shell fire; or sometimes he waited for it to pass and then, with his usual impeccable timing, made the sound of war a foil for one of his jokes. At all times he was clearly aware of what his one-liners and his familiar, very American presence meant to the young soldiers far from home and all that was dear to them. That was, of course, what made him come back, what kept him so tireless a traveler to the wars.

Because of his visits to the troops and his apparent support for the Administration, some criticized Hope as a Vietnam hawk and claimed that he had damaged himself as an entertainer. This did not deter Hope from continuing to entertain U.S. combatants in that war, or those wars that came later. Hope was not the sort to confuse his status as an entertainer with that of a political seer, as is now the case with a crowd of anti-war entertainers.

When Pearl Harbor came, Bob Hope tried to enlist and was turned away, on the grounds that he could be of greater service to the war doing what he did. He went on to turn his wit and heart into a formidable military asset, and he earned the admiration of millions. In the crowd outside his house yesterday a veteran stood silently in salute, carrying both a sign expressing gratitude and an American flag -- a perfect, summary testament to Hope's legacy.

Updated July 29, 2003 - This article comes from www.WSJ.com. .