Bob Hope took his annual USO Christmas tour to Vietnam for nine consecutive years from 1964 to 1972. “The conditions are unbelievable,” Hope said in 1966, “but the emotional thrills you get out of doing those shows . . . nothing else you do gets to you that way.” In this eloquent letter, the mother of one of the soldiers Hope entertained in Vietnam hours before her son’s death expressed her gratitude to the performer for his efforts.