All across America and around the world, this
is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. And
now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry.
And welcome to Veterans Radio. It is our Christmas
program. Welcome. Today's program we've got lined
up for you actually is a replay of a program
that we did back in 2012. So you don't think
that Veterans Radio has been on that long, do
you, right? Well, you know, we are in our 20th
year. Anyway, to get back to this. So back in
December of 2012, we had Senior Vice President
of the USO and Air Force veteran John Hanson
on our program. And we talk about you know, the
USO, its history, you know, what it's been doing
in the past and where it's going in the future.
And we also interspersed a number of different
segments, I guess you could say of Bob Hope,
because how can you do the USO without talking
about Bob Hope? Depending on your generation,
of course, ours, you know, in the Vietnam generation,
we got to see him. Of course, what he did in
World War Two is just, you know. Yeoman's duty
of I mean can't think of how many years he's
missed Christmas with his family But anyway,
so that's what we're going to be be highlighting
today on our program We're also going to be at
the end of the program. We're going to be playing
a little medley by the US Army band a series
of Christmas songs and I just think that you're
going to really enjoy listening to this program
and So I want you to make sure that you stay
tuned You know, we can't do this program without
your support and without the support of our sponsors.
So I want to make sure that I do thank them,
especially at this time of year. So first of
all, I want to thank Legal Help for Veterans,
Legal Help for Veterans Specializes in Veterans
Disability Claims. Call Legal Help for Veterans
at 800 -693 -4800 or you can go to their website
Legal Help for Veterans. The National Veterans
Business Development Council, better known as
NVBDC, the nation's leading third party authority
for certification of veteran -owned businesses.
For more information, go to their website. That's
nvbdc .org. Or give them a call at 888 -237 -8433.
The Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center in Ann
Arbor, Michigan. For more information, you can
go to va .gov slash Ann Arbor Health Care. I
also want to make sure that we don't forget our
local organizations for their long, long time
support. We've got the Erwin Prescor in America
Legion Post 46 and the Charles S. Kettles Vietnam
Veterans of America Chapter 310, both of Ann
Arbor, Michigan. So as I mentioned, we're going
to be Replaying our program from December of
2012 where we're talking with John Hanson from
the USO and we're gonna be playing a number of
segments from some Bob Hope shows that were Actually,
I think someone go back to World War two so it
you know Sit back pour yourself a cup of coffee
and I think you'll enjoy this We hope you'll
enjoy this from all of us here at veterans radio
We wish you a very, very happy holiday season,
very Merry Christmas, and we'll see you next
year. So here we go, Bob Hope. What better topic
to talk about than the USO? For all of you who
have been in the service, we all are familiar
with the USO and their programs that they put
on around on bases around the world or some of
their USO clubs in various airports where we
could stop and stay and and have a relaxing time
and get out of the hubbub of a regular old airport.
So coming up in just a little bit we're going
to have John Hanson who is a senior vice president
and Air Force veteran and he will be on talking
about the history of the USO and what it means
to us and what it means to the country. And I
think it's very important that everybody out
there, I know you're always looking for organizations
to support and the USO is a great one and has
been around for 70 years. And we're going to
take a look at the history of the USO. And I
encourage you, if you've had the opportunity
to see a USO show or stop at one of their...
centers at the airport. I'm going to play a clip
that I found on YouTube yesterday. Unfortunately
you can't see the photographs that go along with
it but you'll be able to find it if you want
to at some point. And it was put up there by
an organization or a gentleman called Answer
So Lucky and it runs about eight minutes but
it talks a little bit about the USO and of course
the iconic Bob Hope. So Nina let's hear this
right now. Bob Hope was not only a great comedian
He also was a great hero. What he did for this
country in times of crisis will always be remembered.
I just want you boys to see what you're fighting
for, that's all. I was on radio at NBC and the
producer said they want you at March Field next
year. I said, what's March Field? He said, that's
an Air Force base in Riverside. I said, well,
what do we do there? You know, there's no war
or anything. He said, well, they want you down
there. It's a great audience. There you are,
Kona. You're down on your knees with 12 suitcases
on your back. What are you going to do now? I
have no sense wasting a position like this. Get
out the dice. The audience was so great. I said,
wait a minute. How long has this been going on?
At Christmas time, war started. Then it became
dramatic. We went five straight years all around
the world. Just doin' troops. Doin' troop troops.
One of the greatest things that ever happened
to me. Well, here I am in London. But here we
are on the USS Foxes. Here I am in Alaska. In
Colorado Springs. Guam. Tokyo. Here we are in
Incirlik, Turkey. Incirlik, that's a Turkish
word meaning don't knock it, at least Vietnam.
Ubon. Cakli. Karat. Atchoukouchi. Utapod. Van
Rang Dang Dang. Chung Ching Chung Kang Air Base.
Now, very thrilled to be here on Where Are We?
I was a little kid during the Second World War
and had these really vivid memories of sitting
by the radio and listening to Hope. Some night.
Some night. Some park. Some park. Some moon.
Some moon. Some bench. Some bench. Some grass.
that he was entertaining were a real part of
the show. You heard these people who were starved
for entertainment, starved for some feeling of
normal life again, and you heard this tremendous
outpouring of energy from them. Bob Hope, when
he came to entertain the troops, it made us and
it probably made other troops feel the same way,
made them forget for a little bit the killing
and the dying that was taking place. even though
it was for just a short time. What's the difference
between you and an idiot? Well, for one thing,
you don't have a mustache. Such a thrill for
me, all these men whistling and screaming. Yeah,
they've been in the jungle too long. He was not
interested in in anything but pleasing those
people. When you went out on the stage, the acceptance
was beyond a great audience, you know, that was
going to give you a standing ovation before you
even opened your mouth. Hey, Bob, am I standing
in the right place? Don't worry, honey. If you're
not, they'll move the bass. I don't know what
I'm doing here, Bob. I can't sing and I can't
dance. Just stand there. They'll do the singing
and dancing. He kept the morale up. That was
what his job was, to keep that morale up for
everybody. I'll give you eight bars to make your
payment fortunate. Otherwise, it's back to the
swamp. Go! I met Mr. Holston. He wanted me to
drive a few bars and abort Christmas. He kind
of stunned me with his reaction because he said...
You know, Crosby's got kids everywhere. 10 ,000
miles away, and especially at Christmas time.
His specialist fourth, Brian H. O 'Connell, here.
Where is he? Would you come up, please? I went
over to Vietnam. Marks me in June or July of
65. My wife was about six months pregnant. Just
before we got on the plane, his wife brought
this over to us. And here's a picture of twins,
his twins that he's never seen. I had no idea
what they looked like, I just knew that they
were twin boys. I just want you to take a peek
at these little kids, at the first time he's
ever seen them. My dad didn't like to talk about
Vietnam much from his personal experiences, but
one thing dad did talk about from the war was
the receiving the pitcher on stage with Bob Holt.
When Bob gave me the bread book, I was proud,
really proud of him, you know, and I thought
it was great. I appreciated it very much. You
know, it was a great feeling. The whole front
row, I mean the whole front section was always
the guys that had like a plasma drip going in.
And they would be in beds. You knew that this
was serious business. and to hear them laugh.
You remember me, Rosemary's baby? Oh, my faithful
old nurse. Yeah. You know, this isn't such a
bad part. What the hell is all that firing over
there? General, will you call off this stuff,
this war, while we're on, please? He would walk
into a hospital. And only he could do this. I
mean, he would lead the gang. There was five
women and myself and Peter Leeds and Les Brown
and a big troupe. And he'd walk in there. His
opening remark was, don't get up to us. You were
seeing kids that had their arms and legs removed.
You were seeing guys that had the whole front
of their bodies sewn up with great big staples,
this thick. I broke down and cried. And he took
me aside and gave me an lecture. This is why
we're here. They want lightness. They want a
joke. They want you to pretend that nothing is
wrong. Many skirts are bigger than ever. Even
some of the fellas are wearing them. Don't laugh.
If you'd have thought of it, you wouldn't be
here. I think one of the most emotional shows
I ever played was when I played for the 1st Marine
Division at Pavuvu down in the South Pacific
because we were playing on an island called Benica
and this fella flew over and said, could you
possibly do an extra show for the 1st Marine
Division? They've never had a show and they would
really love to see and they're going to invade
Palau. And so we flew over the next morning and
you knew when you walked out there. that you're
playing for 15 ,000 kids that a lot of those
guys you never see again. And as it worked out,
60 % of those kids were knocked off in this invasion
of Palo Alto. And we're back. And that was a
segment about Bob Hope and the USO shows. Actually,
we've got a call on the line. I've got Rob Winter
calling from Saline, Michigan. And Rob, you were
called in because you went to a USO show. Yeah.
I was in Vietnam in 70 and 71. I was in the Army,
and I got the luck of the draw. We had in our
company, I don't remember what the allocation,
but it was probably only three or four people,
but we put our names and names in the hat, and
my name came up, and so I was lucky enough to
get to go to one of the famous Bob Hope Christmas
shows. Of course, this happened in December of
1970. And I was in the Marical Division, so I
was in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry. And what
started out, we got, you know, the chopper took
us back to our fire base, which was Fire Support
Base 411 or 411. And from there, then they flew
us back to Chu Lai, which was the Marical headquarters.
Well, I think that was the point. What started
there on the way to Da Nang where the US social
was being held, which was about a three hour
ride, about 90 miles up Highway 1, we had all
been stripped of our weapons. And this was probably
the first time for All the guys in this this
huge convoy that we were without weapons and
it was kind of we all kind of felt naked I'm
sure and so But anyhow, we got trucked up. I
guess one of the interesting things too along
the way, you know in Vietnam there were no What
do you want to call? You know highway rest stops.
So what would happen? What would happen they
would stop the the whole convoy and everyone
would get out and literally go to the side of
the road and there was As far as you can see,
both directions were GIs doing their thing. You
can't forget that picture. I don't know. Anyhow,
we got up there. I remember a couple things.
Of course, the show had Bob Hope, just like you
were playing in the clip, some of his jokes.
But he had Ursula Andress, who, of course, had
been... very famous for the Bond movie, the Dr.
No Bond movie. Lola Filana, who was a dancer.
Gloria Loring, who was a good singer at the time.
I think it was Jennifer Hostin, who was Miss
World anyhow, 1970. Johnny Bench was also there,
baseball player. And of course, Les Brown and
his band of renown. Myself, what I think most
of the guys truly liked the best was the Gold
Diggers group that he brought along. If people
don't know, of course, this was right at the
end of the 60s, 70s, and they were all in their
hip huggers, go -go boots, very tight, showing
a lot of leg. I think everybody thought, you
know, because they were, for a lot of the guys,
it's the first time they'd truly seen an American
girl for, you know, for a long time. And I think
they were the hit of the show, if you want to
know the truth. At least that was my perspective,
so. Well, Rob, what did the Bob Hope Show mean
to you in looking back at it? Well, of course,
of course, for me, it was, you know, a great
great break, you know, a couple days. Like I
said, it was scary both going and coming because
we were vulnerable, but luckily we weren't attacked.
They did have a lot of, they had some helicopter
cover on the convoy, but the show itself was,
was morale. I mean, it was, I mean, all the guys
there was, you know, just terrific to see, see
those people coming out to, you know, support
the troops and, you know, giving of their time.
So. you know, meant a lot, so. Well Rob, I want
to thank you very much for calling in and have
a very Merry Christmas this year too. Okay, same
to you and everyone at Veterans Radio. Thank
you, thank you very much. We're going to take
a break and when we get back we're going to have
John Hanson from the USO on to talk about the
history of the USO and what they did in the past
and what they're doing today. You're listening
to Veterans Radio. He was the famous trumpet
man from all Chicago way. He had a boogie style
that no one else could play. He was the top man
at his craft. But then his number came up and
he was gone with the trap. He's in the army now,
a blowing revelry. He's the boogie -woogie bugle
for a company bean. They made him blow a bugle
for his uncle Sam. And that, of course, was the
Andrew Sisters for those of us that are old enough
to remember. And I was trying to come up with
some tunes. for the current USO tours and unfortunately
I got sidetracked as I normally do when I'm trying
to pick music of songs that I heard when I was
in the service or when I was growing up and my
dad would talk about the USO shows and unfortunately
I didn't get to go to the US show that was in
Longbin in 1969. I was working that day and we
were flying, actually we flew over or near until
we were told by air traffic control to get out
of the area. It was an amazing sight with probably
20 ,000 GIs down in this bowl. Down in the middle
of it was this little tiny stage and you could
see just these little people running around.
I was able to find some of that on YouTube. For
those of you that are really interested in looking
at some of these older programs, YouTube is a
great source for the information. They got a
lot of clips of Bob Hope. They have a lot of
clips of today's USO shows. I would encourage
you to do that, but not. yet and right now coming
on to the Veterans Radio program is John Hanson
and John is a senior executive with the USO organization
and John welcome to Veterans Radio. Thank you
Dale, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to you
and thank you so much for your organization and
what they do for the troops that are active duty
and of course what they do for us. that look
back at this and just can't thank you, the USO,
enough for what you did over in Vietnam, in my
case, all over the world. So tell me a little
bit about how the USO came about. The USO was
created in early 1941. In February 1941, President
Roosevelt combined the operations of six non
-profit organizations that had been, that health
troops did morale work in World War I. His thought
was it would be better if they coordinated their
activities. If you look at the USO logo, you'll
see six stars, and that is sort of our salute
to those six founding organizations that were
pulled together. And the whole idea was that
the military was expanding, bases were opening
all over the country, and there needed to be
a coordinated effort. to provide morale services
and recreational activities for troops at these
bases to keep them occupied when they weren't
in training. I'm stuttering here because I'm
just fascinated about the whole USO thing and
how they got started. We heard in the clip that
I played that Bob Hope got started actually before
World War II began when he was asked to go to
camp in California. He went to what is now March
Air Force Base, March Field. And the story was
he really sort of fought it. He said, why can't
we just bring some troops to the studio? And
his producer said, no, you really need to go
out there. And he discovered that there was a
great audience that he hadn't even anticipated.
And it started his activities. He was on the
road nonstop during the war. As we all know,
even afterwards, he did USO tours up through
the first Gulf War. Bob Hope, of course, wasn't
the only one that was going around the world
putting on these programs. You also had programs
going on in the States with some of these things
called the Stage Door Canteens. Can you tell
me a little bit about those? The Stage Door Canteens
were actually started, I think, by John Garfield
and Bette Davis as an effort for Hollywood. to
get involved in the war effort, and troops stationed
around the country would go to these, before
USO clubs were at these locations, they would
go to these locations and be served a meal, there'd
be some dancing, some entertainment, and they'd
be, happen to be, just as likely be weighted
on by a celebrity. My father is a World War II
veteran who was in San Francisco, and it's interesting,
the one memory. that stood out for him during
the war was being served a sandwich by Sophie
Tucker at the USO in San Francisco. It means
a lot for troops still, for celebrities, somebody,
as they say, who doesn't have to be here to show
up and do something on their own, do something
nice. I don't think that many people are really
aware of how many entertainers have been going
on USO tours over the last 70 years, but even
up till today. Can you think of some of the entertainers
that have been in Afghanistan and Iraq? Well,
Robin Williams and Lewis Black, Kid Rock is probably
one reason you didn't want to pick any music.
Kelly Pickler, the country singer, just finished
her sixth USO tour this week. She got back on
Tuesday from Afghanistan. Trace Atkins has gone
for us a number of times. Toby Keith goes every
spring for us and he insists that while he doesn't
mind doing large shows at large bases that he
won't go unless he can go to some forward operating
bases. So we have to engineer a tour to make
sure that he gets to some really small locations
and he takes him and his guitarists out to entertain
troops. Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders are on tour
now. They've been going on tour since Vietnam,
especially this time of year. They have been
going to Japan and Korea this year. They're going
to the Persian Gulf area. And so we sort of run
the gamut, and we're delighted that celebrities
still step up. Gary Sinise has gone around the
world for us, I don't know how many times, taking
either. going by himself just to talk to troops
or taking the Lieutenant Dan Band with him. It's
a big roster. I just think it's amazing and I
want people to really understand that these people
are volunteering to go over there. In fact, one
of the clips that I was listening to with Bob
Hope, he said he went back and they asked him
to go again. I said, okay. He went off and did
these shows. I'm always amazed at the programs
that they put on and the reception that they
got and that he gave up his Christmas for 40
years to put on these programs. Many of these
people today are following in those footsteps.
If we look at the USO during World War II and
what they did, of course traveling around the
world for those four years, what happened to
the USO after World War II? Well, in 1947, as
the military was being pared back, Harry Truman
gave the USO an honorable discharge and thanked
the USO for its services. And over the next couple
of years, the USO wound down its activities around
the world until 1950. And when the Korean War
started, the USO was once again asked to do what
it had done in World War II. and we've been going
strong ever since. In Korea, of course, we had
the flyer that I sent around. I found a picture
of Marilyn Monroe and found out that she had
gone to Korea a couple of times. Of course, the
entertainers and Bob Hope, of course, went to
Korea. I had an email from one of our listeners
that said that he had seen Bob Hope in Korea
and it just meant so much to him to see the program.
you know, being all these, you know, American
guys are overseas and Bob Hope brings over all
these, you know, these young American women and
they say, oh, you know, this is what you're fighting
for. And it's kind of interesting. Go ahead,
John. Marilyn Monroe went to Korea. She and Joe
DiMaggio were in Japan and she decided that she
wanted to go to Korea and went over there and
she came back. The story is that She said, Joe,
you can't imagine what it's like to have thousands
of people yelling your name. And he said, oh,
yes, I can. Yeah, I would say so. Yeah, it's
probably a little bit of different experience
for most of the movie people anyway, to have
people yelling and screaming your name. It was
amazing when I was listening to these clips.
And again, I encourage people, if you want to
find out more about some of these shows that
the USO put on, you can find them, of course.
But when I was editing them out, I would edit
out sometimes two and three minutes of the troops
just cheering, just because. And that hasn't
changed. Those shows, and your audience needs
to understand, one thing that they do know about
the USO is probably entertainment. And it's about
10 % of what we do. It's a huge 10%. And it's
extraordinarily important. People today in Afghanistan,
this time of year, we take a tour over there.
They'll wait for three or four hours in the snow
and sit through a two or three hour show. It
means that much to them. And the response is
exactly the same. It's noisy. It's boisterous.
And it's one reason that once we get a performer
to go on a tour, we don't have trouble recruiting
that performer again. Well, I guess here's a
question I come up with. What about security
for these people? That's kind of, you know, the
guy called in, Robbie, you know, he's saying,
you know, they took us in there. Of course, they
don't want us to bring our weapons into the show.
Well, now they do. Oh, OK. The weapons are all
cleared. But Robin Williams said that the most
sobering event occasionally ever had was when
he walked out into, I think, Iraq. The whole
front row was armed. He said, this is an incentive
to do well. I was going to say, it's not a program
that, pardon the pun, you don't want a bomb at
that one. That's for sure. You mentioned that
the entertainment portion of the USO is only
10 % of what you really do. We got about three
minutes, so we're going to take another break,
John, but give me some of the other activities
that the USO is involved with. We operate at
160 locations around the world, you mentioned.
in your run -up, the USO centers at airports.
We have USO centers at the major airports in
the United States. We also have them around the
world. We have nine USO centers in Afghanistan.
That's where most of our traffic is right now.
Those centers get about between eight and nine
million visits a year from troops and family
members, and they're important connections back
home for troops and for families that are stationed
overseas. So the biggest part of what we do happens
at our USO centers around the world and we'll
be opening a new one in just a few months in
Nashville and we'll talk a little later about
a big project that we're putting on in the Washington
DC area at a couple of military hospitals. Okay,
in these last two minutes, I'm just going to
read an email that I got from Al Wood, and Al
Wood is in Australia, and he was in Vietnam with
the Australian military, and he said that after
a recent visit to Washington DC for the 30th
anniversary of the wall, one more gem awaited
us as we departed Dallas International Airport
for home. On arrival off the coach from the city,
we passed a sign to a USO lounge, caught my eye
and I... delved deep back into my memory and
I had been into a USO club in Vung Tau, South
Vietnam way back in 1969. So once we leave to
our luggage we had some three hours to kill and
I went back and asked if an allied forces veteran
in Vietnam was eligible to go. And of course,
when I showed them some idea to prove I was a
veteran, they manning the lounge, they said,
welcomed us to come in with open arms and had
sure beat the heck out of sitting in the departure
lounge. So there was a fridge full of beverages,
a microwave, an offer with any range of frozen
meals, coffee, lounge chairs, TV, quiet room
with beds there and a nap if necessary, and internet
PCs and telephone calls to anywhere in the world
were offered. All of this at no charge. Priority
security check -in was also given to us. And
he said that they later found chocolate sweets
stuffed into the jacket pockets on their flight
home. and he just wanted to say apparently this
USO facility is also offered at many other airports
across the USA. It should be kept in mind the
ladies were there were so hospitable and welcoming
to Barbara when his wife Barbara says we were
very impressed thank you very much he says. That's
a great story thank you for sharing that. And
I think that that's that's just the way that
the USO is. We're going to be coming up and taking
a break here in a minute John. I'm going to play
another little segment after this break. of one
of the Bob Hope shows where he's talking with
Nguyen Cao Ky, for those of you that were in
Vietnam you'll recognize that, but I think it's
important that you listen. So we'll be right
back. You're listening to Veterans Radio. The
Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor
in combat given a member of the Armed Forces
of the United States. There have been over 3
,400 recipients of the nation's highest award.
This is one of them. First Lieutenant Jack Jacobs,
although seriously wounded. made repeated trips
across an open rice paddy evacuating wounded
and their weapons. Details after this. As a veteran
of Iraq or Afghanistan, joining IAVA .org really
helps in the transition home. It's a network
of OIF and OEF vets like me who've got your back
here, just like we did over there. That means
when you need help navigating the GI Bill, we've
got your back. And when you're dealing with the
transition home, we've got your back. or when
you just want someone to share stories with,
we've got your back. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
of America is there for you. Join our community
at iava .org. We've got your back. Brought to
you by IAVA and the Ad Council. Jacob served
as an assistant battalion advisor in Kien Phong
province, Republic of Vietnam. The battalion
was advancing when it came under intense heavy
machine gun and mortar fire. Jacob's called for
and directed airstrikes on the enemy positions.
Due to the intensity of the enemy fire and heavy
casualties to the command group, including the
company commander, the attack stopped and the
friendly troops became disorganized. Wounded
by mortar fragments, Jacobs assumed command of
the company, ordered to withdraw from the exposed
position, and established a defensive perimeter.
Despite heavy bleeding from head wounds that
impaired his vision, Jacobs returned under intense
fire to evacuate a seriously wounded advisor
to safety. where he administered life -saving
first aid. He then returned through heavy automatic
weapons fire to evacuate the wounded company
commander. Jacobs made repeated trips across
the fire swept open rice paddies, evacuating
wounded and their weapons. On three separate
occasions, Jacob drove off Viet Cong squads who
were searching for allied wounded and weapons,
single -handedly killing three and wounding several
others. His actions saved the lives of a U .S.
advisor, and 13 Allied soldiers. The Medal of
Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio.
The war began for two years and I got the calling.
I got the calling to join the service and support
the boys over there. Thousands of American troops
have come home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,
suffering the effects of post -traumatic stress
and traumatic brain injuries. I never thought
that I would have PTSD. I thought that I had
enough coping skills. I don't think anybody who
goes into combat could ever honestly say that
they're not different when they come home. What
you take as a simple thing is not so simple for
me anymore. I'm gonna have my good days and my
bad days and I really don't like those bad days.
I would say to those people that are out there,
don't brush this aside and don't count us out.
Help the USO support these troops and their families.
Donate today at giveuso .org. The wounds are
invisible. The stories are real. Here's the show
I still don't believe. The largest GI audience
I ever played to. The nicest Christmas present
we ever had. Some say 30 ,000, some say 28 ,000.
You come. I'm going out to grab them before I
lose a single one. I just want to tell you it's
great to be back here in General Westmoreland's
ranch. General Westmoreland went to see the president.
I guess it didn't work out. He's back. This space
is loaded with brass. One PFC spent his whole
tour of duty trying to salute his way out of
the washroom. They don't have this many stars
at the Academy Awards and there's just as much
jealousy. enough about my problem. Now, Vietnam
is less than half the size of California and
the same shape. So why doesn't Ronald Reagan
come over here and straighten the whole thing
out? This is Christmas Day. I tell you, it's
a wonderful thing here in Vietnam, and there's
a great holiday spirit. This morning, a perfect
stranger handed me a gift beautifully wrapped.
I can't get over the way he tied the fuse into
a bowl. Vietnam is the only place in the world
where you can get a Purple Heart opening your
Christmas presents. And Santa's afraid to come
to Vietnam. Last year he only got as far as the
first hole when he was picked up by the MPs.
After the show of the man, all four stars, General
Westmoreland, came up on stage. Bob, I want to
thank you and your talented troop for a wonderful
show. There's a very distinguished gentleman
in the audience who has seen Bob Scholl for four
years. At this time, I would like to introduce
the Vice President of the Republic of Vietnam,
Nguyen Cao Ky. I would like to take this opportunity
to express to all my fellow fighters on behalf
of my people, my country, our gratitude. We know
how big your sacrifice. We know how big. your
dedication. I'm sure the generation of Vietnamese
today and those to come will remember you. Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year. And we're back
on Veterans Radio and that was a Bob Hope show
and long been and I just thought it was interesting
for those of you out there who you know wondered
how the Vietnamese felt about our troops being
there for so long. I just, I like that comment.
It kind of made me feel good when I heard that
from me and Cal Key. We're talking with John
Hanson, who is the Senior Vice President of the
USO and is an Air Force veteran himself. John,
we were talking earlier not only about what the
entertainers do and what the facilities are that
the USO provides around the world, but what else
is the USO doing to help America's veterans?
So over the past couple of years we've started
a project we call Operation Enduring Care. We
realized that one of the USO's great traditions
was to be at military hospitals around the world.
And we're actually with these troops today when
they're wounded in Afghanistan. We're at Kandahar
at the big hospital and at Bagram. We're at the
combat stress clinics around Afghanistan. when
the troops come back through Germany and stop
at Landstuhl, we have a USO center that is part
of the Landstuhl Army Hospital there that provides
a break not only for the people who are in the
hospital, but for the troops' caregivers and
for the medical personnel there. And we have
been operating that military hospital since the
end of the Second World War, but we wanted to
ramp up that activity. So we are... In about
five weeks, we will open the first of our warrior
and family centers. Two of them we're building
now. One, the first will be at Fort Belvoir,
Virginia, just south of Washington. The second
one will be built next year at the new Walter
Reed Military Facility in Bethesda, Maryland.
But these centers will be very large, the largest
USO centers in the world. But what's more important
than how big they are is that we think they'll
be offering some hope. Right now, any of us who
have ever been in the hospital know that after
three or four days, the hospital wants you out
and you want out. And it's really unusual to
stay at a hospital for a long time. An amputee
at Walter Reed, for example, is there for an
average of 18 months. And that amputee's world
is pretty much... his or her hospital room, the
rehabilitation facility, and whatever surgical
suite he or she may have to go to. So we wanted
to provide a place not just for the troops to
go during their recuperation, but also for families
to begin the process of starting their lives
for what comes after the military. So we'll have
continuing education, a place to watch movies,
a place for kids to play. There'll be kitchens
there so they can prepare home -cooked meals.
There won't be residential facilities, but there'll
be areas of respite, a place to deal with what
is sometimes an enemy none of them anticipated,
which is despair. So thanks to the generosity
of some of our donors and some great corporations,
we'll open the first center at Fort Belvoir in
early February. The second one will be built
and completed, we hope. by the end of 2013. Wow.
Make sure you let us know about that because
that sounds like a great opportunity to do a
program about what the USO is doing in addition
to providing entertainment for our troops. Well
these centers are in the middle of a campus of
where troops are recovering and you were generous
enough to hear a USO PSA about Invisible Wounds
of War, and we're working closely with the National
Intrepid Center of Excellence for Traumatic Brain
Injury to make sure that we can add whatever
value we can to the programs they offer, whether
it's art therapy, a place to put on a program.
We work cooperatively with a lot of great nonprofits,
and we're proud to do that. our step into making
sure that wounded, ill and injured troops and
their families have a place to recover and to
get started to look down the road and take on
the challenges when they go home. Well, I certainly
appreciate what the USO is doing and also to
talk a little bit more about how we as private
citizens now can help the USO. What do we need
to do? Is the USO a government agency? Never
has been and it will shock no one that after
the USO was formed during World War II, the War
Department decided it was a great target of opportunity.
And President Roosevelt said that if it is not
supported by the American public, it doesn't
deserve to exist. And so we have been a private
not -for -profit organization since our founding.
And several government studies afterwards said
that if there weren't a USO, they have to create
one. We have been, we're supported by millions
of individual donors and dozens of really great
American corporations who help us do what we
do. Well, we're going to, coming up on a break
here in a couple of minutes, John, and then we're
going to come back and we're going to talk about
some of the other things that the USO does and
how people can donate money to help out the USO.
I think it's such a valuable resource for us
all to support. I mean, there are so many different
organizations out there and it sounds as though
the USO is sort of acting like a clearinghouse
with some of the other great organizations that
are out there too. We work cooperatively with
some really great non -profits and we add value
to each other. You're listening to Veterans Radio
and we'll be right back after this. Nothing in
my purse and chuckles when the preacher said
for better or for worse for the memory of Schubert's
serenade little things of jade and traffic jams
and anagrams and bills we never paid how lovely
it was we who could laugh And that, of course,
is Bob Hope again, because Bob Hope, to many
of us, was and is the face of the USO, although
that has changed dramatically today. And we have
many other entertainers who are out there. Our
guest, John Hanson, who is a senior vice president
with the USO, talked about. And I guess one of
the ones that I always hear about is Gary Sinise.
Can you tell me a little bit about his involvement?
Because, boy, I tell you, it seems like he's
everywhere. Gary's a great guy. He, obviously,
his experience in Forrest Gump got him interested
in military service. He's got a number of family
members who served, and I think his brother served
during Vietnam. And you might not know that he
was very active in Chicago, in his hometown,
in veterans issues. So early in this war, we
asked him to go on our first. USO tour to Iraq
and we haven't been able to stop him since. He's
also, he plays bass in a rock and roll band that
he's called the Lieutenant Dan Band and we've
taken that band around the world as well to entertain
troops and family members. He's one of the most
generous people in the business and we'll do
just about anything we ask if he's available.
He's a great guy. Well, we certainly here at
Veterans Radio appreciate what Gary does, not
only for the USO, but how he has supported veterans
all along. I just think it's wonderful. Yeah,
he was one of the speakers at the Disabled Veterans
for Life Memorial groundbreaking a year or so
ago, and he's been a big supporter of that memorial.
He's a veteran's friend, and he's a friend of
troops and families. Well, and there are many
more like him and I can't even go through all
the names and I'm sure you couldn't either. We
were talking and when I was looking at the USO
website, which is USO .org, you can go on there
and make a donation still in time for Christmas.
But you had an interesting thing on your site
about that you can give money in different denominations
for different gifts for veterans. Could you talk
just briefly about that? I think you're talking
about the USO Wishbook. We started it in November
of last year. It's an online alternative giving
catalog and it gives donors an opportunity to
give symbolically gifts in a number of price
points. Including this year, we added some gifts
for wounded warriors. So you can, for $60, for
example, you can provide a flight home comfort
kit that has blankets, airplane pillows, those
kinds of things. And you can even, we've got
gifts there that will help troops write a resume
or get some job counseling. or send a military
kid to camp. These are opportunities for people
to give to the USO but to target their gift to
something that's meaningful to them. So these
are virtual gifts and we talk to our troops and
our families all year long to find out what's
important to them and we try to make that happen.
I thought that was a wonderful program when I
saw that. And the other thing I know you can
do is that you can make donations in honor of
somebody. Yeah, you can make a gift in honor
of a family member, someone who's longer with
us. And if it's for a family member, they'll
get a card that will let them know that somebody
has donated to the USO in their honor. That's
how I got involved. John, I want to thank you
so very much for being on Veterans Radio today.
And if there's anything that we can ever do to
help out the USO, don't hesitate to give us a
call and we'll be there to help you as much as
possible. Well, Dale, we appreciate the opportunity
to be with you and wish all your listeners the
best for the holidays and the new year. We'll
be talking with you soon. Absolutely. Thank you
very much and a Merry Christmas to you and yours.
And to you. Bye bye. All right, folks. the USO
and we all are familiar with the USO and we're
not going to close the program now but I've got
one more thing that I want to play for you as
a clip from one of the Bob Hope programs and
we're going to play that right now and then we're
going to come back and we're going to end up
the program at that point. So yeah, here we go.
It's a holiday season. You're away from home,
a long way away from home. And they begin singing
Silent Night and the entire audience chimes in.
And by the time you're singing the last refrain,
most men, and we were mad men, had tears rolling
down their eyes. And all you could hear were
people crying. They wanted to dry their eyes.
And the fight. It was beautiful and it was happy
and it was very sad at the same time. There was
this entire audience of mostly men just in tears
and of course we were all in tears. And I will
never forget that moment. Every single show.
Have a Merry Christmas and God bless you. So
joyous and, you know, we'd laugh till we cried.
There were these guys who were going to go maybe
a number of them were going to go die. We're
all laughing together. That's a real service.
In a lot of ways that's probably the last performance
any of those guys saw. In that regard, that speaks
volumes about the man. Bob Hope is one of a kind.
He's a saint and if he isn't, he should be. God
bless Bob Hope. God bless Bob Hope and God bless
all of the people that work with the USO and
again I encourage you please go to their website
USO .org and donate today. They can use the funds.
We've asked these men and women to go overseas
numerous times and many of them have missed holidays
with their families. and they're friends and
this is one way that we can support them and
the USO does a great job and I'm not just chilling
just for the USO. There are many other great
organizations out there and this is the time
of year when they need your contributions, they
need your donations to help out these men and
women because without these men and women many
of us wouldn't have the opportunity of being
here and our lives would probably be a lot different
if we were to. you know, not support these organizations.
I think what was interesting in talking with
John was that, you know, the USO is an organization
that is strictly volunteers. And, you know, as
President Roosevelt said, well, you know, if
the American people aren't going to support an
organization like this, then what's the point?
Well, you know, we've got a lot of people, men
and women out there that are defending us every
single day. And it's only it's less than 1 %
of our population. And, you know, we've all heard
about those 1 percenters. Well, there's 99 percent
of us that are not involved with the military
any longer, and it's up to us to support these
men and women. And I'm hoping that you will do
that with your contributions to organizations
like the USO and some of the other ones that
are out there. This is a pretty emotional program.
I didn't realize that some of these things were
going to get to me like they always do. But we
want to thank all of you out there for your support
of Veterans Radio and we are looking forward
to another new year coming up. On behalf of all
of us here at Veterans Radio, Bob, Dale, Nina
and Maria, in the control room, we want to wish
all of you a very, very Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year and peace on earth to all of you.
yourself a merry little Christmas let your heart
be light from now on our troubles will be out
of sight yourself a merry little Christmas make
the you Gather near to us Gather near to us once
more Through the years we all will be together