Sounds of Saturday: Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Bob Hope, one of my all-time favorites. If you don't know him, you should.

It's so appropriate that his birthday falls on Memorial Day weekend. Bob Hope was a lifelong supporter of the troops, and spent more than 60 years working with the USO traveling around the world and into war zones up to the Gulf War to entertain them. Call him the forerunner to Gary Sinise. Below I've listed both his bio dealing with his service to the troops and a list of awards he received over the years, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Whenever Bob Hope comes to mind, so does this song. It's pretty much his theme song. In this scene he has run into his Ex at a bar and they are reminiscing. It's a bittersweet song about the life - and death - of a relationship. There are good times and bad times, but in the end, even if the relationship doesn't last, you can be thankful for the memories.

Recommended viewing:

The Cat and the Canary
Caught in the Draft

My Favorite Blonde

Any of the "Road to ____" movies with Bing Crosby.

Five times Bob was honored by the United States Congress. But, in October 1997, Bob received one of his greatest tributes when Resolution 75 was unanimously passed by members of both houses making him an Honorary Veteran - the first individual so honored in the history of the United States. He was feted in the US Capitol Rotunda by members of congress, military personnel and veterans. The next day, Bob, family and friends were guests in the oval office for the signing of the resolution by President Clinton

Bob's next visit to Washington, D.C. was in May 2000 when he officially opened the Bob Hope Gallery of American Enterainment at the Library of Congress. In July 2001, the 'Pentagon' (US Army Adjutant General Corps) paid a visit to Bob Hope's home in Toluca Lake, California for the presentation of the Order of Horatio Gates Gold Medal for his life-long contributions toward maintaining the high morale of soldiers around the world. And on his 99th birthday, May 29, 2002; The Chapel at the Los Angeles National Cemetery was named The Bob Hope Veterans Chapel.

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Awards:

• In 1962, Bob Hope was presented with the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
• In 1969, President Lyndon Johnson bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Bob Hope for his service to the men and women of the armed forces through the USO.^[30]
• Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1983.
• He was a member of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.^[31]
• Order of St. Gregory the Great – 1989
• In 1995, Bob Hope was presented with the National Medal of Arts.
• Hope received the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award in 1997.^[32]
• Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) – 1998
• Member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels
• One of the few non-members given the privilege of dotting the 'i' in the Script Ohio routine performed by The Ohio State University Marching Band.
• The historic chapel at the Los Angeles National Cemetery was renamed as the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel on his 99th birthday, May 29, 2002 in "celebration of his lifelong service to our American Veterans".
• The Burbank, California, public airport was renamed Bob Hope Airport in 2003.
• The historic Bob Hope Patriotic Hall building on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles County was named in his honor on August 3, 2003, by the Board of Supervisors.
• USNS Bob Hope (T-AKR-300) of the U.S. Military Sealift Command was named after the performer in 1997. It is one of very few U.S. naval ships that were named after living people.
• The United States Air Force named a C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft after Hope, the Spirit of Bob Hope.
• In 2008, the research library at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum was renamed by Congress with the consent of the President, as the Bob Hope Memorial Library.
• For contributions to the live theater, radio, motion picture, and television, Bob Hope was honored with four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[33]
• At the U.S. Naval Academy, Alumni Hall is home to the Bob Hope Performing Arts Center.
• The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. has a wing funded by Dolores and Bob Hope in memory of his mother.^[34] It is dedicated to a miracle in Pontmain, France.
• The municipal clock tower of Utica, New York is named the Tower of Hope in honor of Bob Hope.

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