What kept them from being attacked when they’d put on shows in Vietnam and other war zones?
The shows were held far behind the front lines.
The large events were held in safer venues, but you can still hear bombs going off in some of the shows.
Smaller groups went to more dangerous locations. They were announced a very short time in advance. Hope and his actors and crew were helicoptered in, did a quick show, and then were moved elsewhere. They often didn’t even take the crew and were not recorded to minimize numbers.
I can just hear the troops chanting, “USO! USO! USO!”.
Thank you.
They just seemed like such well organized big events to me, watching on TV as a kid. There were always so many soldiers.
I miss Bob Hope! He was truly funny.
During WW2, Marlene Deitrich would perform so close to the front that *German *soldiers would hear her shows. This was done on purpose - she had been very popular in Germany before the war, and the Allies hoped that hearing her sing for the enemy would damage German morale.
Most rear echelon facilities in Vietnam were harrassed by rocket fire. Since the VC had to get in close, the probability of being seen in daylight in a more populated area was very high. In the year I was there, we never had an attack happen during the day. Since the big Hope shows were done at places like Freedom Hill (with all the accompanying security for the events), the likelihood of his being attacked was quite small.
The USO still organizes shows by big and semi-big stars for the military (I’m a USO contributor). In recent years Gary Sinise, Chuck Norris, Toby Keith, Robin Williams and Wayne Newton have gone to Iraq and Afghanistan (no fabulous babes that I can recall, although I’m sure there’ve been some). Here’s last year’s schedule: http://www.uso.org/whatwedo/entertainment/2008tourschedule/
ETA: Ah, I see Scarlett Johansson appeared: http://www.uso.org/gallery/details.aspx?id=179
Now she is an enlistment bonus. :D:D:D:D:D
Wayne Newton organizes shows in the Bob Hope style. One lineup I saw included Shaggy, Bo Derek, Jessica Simpson and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.