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