This morning I was mulling over our president skipping the tribute to American soldiers at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France and the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. It got me thinking about a man who spent nearly 50 years with our troops throughout the world. I am, of course, referring to Bob Hope, who the USO calls “The One-Man Morale Machine.”

Former Seabee Ron Onning said of his deployment on the island of Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean and Hope’s visit there in 1972: “It was miserable there. But that visit made the difference in our deployment – that got us through the next four, five months. He brought such enthusiasm, brought your life back to you. You felt like you were renewed. That was one of the biggest thrills of my life.”

This is what Bob Hope did from World War II through Vietnam to the Gulf War. All those Christmases.

Now our president has 5,800 active-duty troops on the U.S.-Mexico border. They can only perform such tasks as “installing towering panels of metal bars and wrapping concertina wire around barriers while military helicopters fly overhead carrying border patrol agents to and from locations along the border,” according to the Military Times. Why is that? It’s because “military troops are prohibited from carrying out enforcement duties.”

But that’s OK. It’s only Thanksgiving with their families that they’ll be missing. There’s no Bob Hope for them, although we can hope that someone else, another entertainer and morale booster, will be there. How about the Entertainer in Chief. No, my guess is he’ll be a no-show. MIA. Again.

Barbara Conroy

Portland

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