Dear Bob

Bob Hope's Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War II

Martha Bolton, Linda Hope

• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN:
  9781496832665
• Print ISBN:
  9781496832658
  9781496832658
• Subtopic: Military Biographies

2026 ENDURING LIGHT GOLD MEDAL WINNER IN THE INSPIRATIONAL CATEGORY AWARDED BY ILLUMINATION AWARDS

FIRST PLACE WINNER IN THE MEMOIR CATEGORY OF THE 2022 SELAH AWARDS

WINNER OF THE 2021 GOLDEN SCROLL AWARDS FOR MEMOIR OF THE YEAR AND CHRISTIAN MARKET BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDED BY THE ADVANCED WRITERS AND SPEAKERS ASSOCIATION

For five decades, comedian, actor, singer, dancer, and entertainer Bob Hope (1903–2003) traveled the world performing before American and Allied troops and putting on morale-boosting USO shows. Dear Bob . . . : Bob Hope's Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of World War II tells the story of Hope's remarkable service to the fighting men and women of World War II, collecting personal letters, postcards, packages, and more sent back and forth among Hope and the troops and their loved ones back home.

Soldiers, nurses, wives, and parents shared their innermost thoughts, swapped jokes, and commiserated with the "G.I.s' best friend" about war, sacrifice, lonely days, and worrisome, silent nights. The Entertainer of the Century performed for millions of soldiers in person, in films, and over the radio. He visited them in the hospitals and became not just a pal but their link to home. This unforgettable collection of letters and images, many of which remained in Hope's personal files throughout his life and now reside at the Library of Congress, capture a personal side of both writer and recipient in a very special and often-emotional way. This volume heralds the voices of those servicemen and women whom Hope entertained and who, it is clear, delighted and inspired him.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Introduction
• Dear Bob … We Got Drafted. How’d You Get Here?
• Dear Bob … Drop Me a Few Lines, Will Ya?
• Dear Bob … We Can Dream, Can’t We?
• Dear Bob … Thanks for Having Our Backs!
• Dear Bob … Did I Really Sign Up for This?
• Dear Bob … Here’s What’s Shakin’
• Dear Bob … Greetings from the Foxhole
• Dear Bob … Tell My Mom I Miss Her
• Dear Bob … Just Had to Send It
• Dear Bob … I’m Missing My Sweetheart
• Dear Bob … How ’Bout It?
• Dear Bob … Words Aren’t Enough
• Dear Bob … The Beaches Looked Better in the Brochure
• Dear Bob … Remind the Folks Back Home to Do Their Part … and We’ll Do Ours
• Dear Bob … War Is Real
• Dear Bob … Here’s a Memory for You
• Dear Bob … Where the Heck Are You?
• Dear Bob … Nice of You to Drop In
• Dear Bob … We Won’t Be Home for Christmas
• Dear Bob … Thanks for Being There
• Dear Bob … V-E Day at Last!
• Dear Bob … V-J Day … War’s End
• Dear Bob … Going Home
• Bob Hope’s World War II Appearances
• Acknowledgments