The Hope/Berlin Award
Dear patriots,
This is old news, but this is a new blog and you probably didn't hear it the first time. The Hope/Berlin Award honors the most distinguished supporters of our troops. Its first namesake is Bob Hope, who spent much of his career entertaining troops in the Pacific Islands during World War II, in Korea, in Vietnam, in Europe and elsewhere. Hope's tours were usually affiliated with the United Service Organization (USO), a group founded in 1941 as a merging of the military morale and welfare services of the Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA, the National Catholic Community Services, the National Travelers Aid Association, and the National Jewish Welfare Board.
The other half of the award is named for Irving Berlin, who founded and performed in the Soldiers' Show, writing several of their songs himself. The Soldiers' Show still operates worldwide and they performed for my unit at Fort Benning while I was in Basic Training.
Fittingly, the first Hope/Berlin Award honoree is also an actor. In 2005, he was visiting soldiers at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and someone introduced him to the Fisher House Foundation. The Fisher Houses give free lodging and pay for the airfare for the families of soldiers convalescing at Walter Reed and other Military and VA hospitals around the country. After visiting one Fisher House in San Antonio, he asked, "How much does one Fisher House cost?" When told, "Half a million dollars," Denzel Washington pulled out his checkbook on the spot and wrote a check for that amount. Denzel and Pauletta Washington joined the Board of Trustees for the Fisher House Foundation last year while I was in Iraq. They have been married for twenty-three years and have four children.
Cheers and deepest thanks to Denzel Washington, a great American and a benevolent patriot.
This is old news, but this is a new blog and you probably didn't hear it the first time. The Hope/Berlin Award honors the most distinguished supporters of our troops. Its first namesake is Bob Hope, who spent much of his career entertaining troops in the Pacific Islands during World War II, in Korea, in Vietnam, in Europe and elsewhere. Hope's tours were usually affiliated with the United Service Organization (USO), a group founded in 1941 as a merging of the military morale and welfare services of the Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA, the National Catholic Community Services, the National Travelers Aid Association, and the National Jewish Welfare Board.
The other half of the award is named for Irving Berlin, who founded and performed in the Soldiers' Show, writing several of their songs himself. The Soldiers' Show still operates worldwide and they performed for my unit at Fort Benning while I was in Basic Training.
Fittingly, the first Hope/Berlin Award honoree is also an actor. In 2005, he was visiting soldiers at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and someone introduced him to the Fisher House Foundation. The Fisher Houses give free lodging and pay for the airfare for the families of soldiers convalescing at Walter Reed and other Military and VA hospitals around the country. After visiting one Fisher House in San Antonio, he asked, "How much does one Fisher House cost?" When told, "Half a million dollars," Denzel Washington pulled out his checkbook on the spot and wrote a check for that amount. Denzel and Pauletta Washington joined the Board of Trustees for the Fisher House Foundation last year while I was in Iraq. They have been married for twenty-three years and have four children.
Cheers and deepest thanks to Denzel Washington, a great American and a benevolent patriot.
posted by Bountyhawk at 8:38 AM
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