Bob Hope's career spanned eight decades, but his overseas performances for soldiers during World War II may be his most important and enduring work. From 1941 to the war's final campaigns, Hope traveled to visit troops in battle zones across the globe, broadcasting many of his performances on radio and bringing a respite from battle to thousands of soldiers. At an interactive display produced in partnership with Ideum in the special exhibit “So Read for Laughter: The Legacy of Bob Hope,” on view

How did Bob Hope keep troops entertained? In this video, Bob Hope himself narrates a trip his troupe took to the South Pacific theater in 1944. It might look like a country club, he says, but don't let the peaceful surroundings fool you—the casualty rate would reach 50 percent in the coming days. Presented in conjunction with our exhibition So Ready for Laughter: Bob Hope and World War II, which was organized by the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and supported by the Bob & Dolores Hope Foun