On his wartime USO tours he had one ironclad rule that he insisted his
fellow performers follow: under no circumstances were they allowed to
cry when visiting wounded soldiers in military hospitals. This was
often difficult given the amount of suffering they saw, but he told his
performers that it was their duty to always smile and provide
laughs and good cheer for the troops. According to Hope, he broke his
own rule only once. While visiting an army hospital in Italy in 1943,
he stopped at the bedside of a wounded soldier who had been in a coma
for two months. The soldier suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Hey,
Bob Hope! When did you get here?" He had to leave the hospital room to
keep the troops from seeing his tears, but he returned a few hours
later to present the soldier with his Purple Heart medal.
