As I drove into the base this morning, I saw the flag at half mast and wasn't sure why. Then on my lunch break I heard Tony Kornheiser on ESPN Radio talking about Bob Hope and figured it was he that the flag was half-masted for. Guess this confirms it.
There has never been, nor will there probably ever be, an entertainer who so loved the troops that he traveled to countless war zones to bring them a little slice of back home to cheer up an otherwise shitty time. A true American icon.
This is the USNS Bob Hope, the lead ship in a new class of Military Sealift Command cargo ship that was named for him in 1997. Already it has served with honor in many theaters, carrying troops and their gear, but also supplies and morale items for the forward-deployed men and women in uniform. Just one of Bob Hope's legacies.
-Mikey