DESIGNATION OF BOB HOPE AS AN HONORARY VETERAN OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES.

SEC. 1087. DESIGNATION OF BOB HOPE AS AN HONORARY VETERAN OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES. (a) Findings.—Congress makes the following findings:111 STAT. 1921 (1) In its more than 200 years of existence as a nation, the United States has never conferred on any person the status of being an honorary veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States. (2) Status as an honorary veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States is and should remain an extraordinary honor not lightly conferred nor frequently granted. (3) The lifetime of accomplishments and service of Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope on behalf of members of the Armed Forces of the United States fully justifies the conferring of that status. (4) Bob Hope attempted to enlist in the Armed Forces to serve his country during World War II but was informed that the greatest service he could provide his country was as a civilian entertainer for the troops. (5) During World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Cold War, Bob Hope travelled to visit and entertain millions of members of the Armed Forces in numerous countries, on ships at sea, and in combat zones ashore. (6) Bob Hope has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Distinguished Service Medal of each of the branches of the Armed Forces and more than 100 other citations and awards from national veterans service organizations and civic and humanitarian organizations. (7) Bob Hope has given unselfishly of himself for over half a century to be with American service members on foreign shores, working tirelessly to bring a spirit of humor and cheer to millions of service members during their loneliest moments, and has, thereby, extended to them for the American people a touch of home away from home. (b) Designation of Bob Hope as Honorary Veteran.—Congress— (1) extends its gratitude, on behalf of the American people, to Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope, of the State of California, for his lifetime of accomplishments and service on behalf of members of the Armed Forces of the United States; and (2) hereby confers upon him the status of being an honorary veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States.