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| O COLUMBIA |
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| THE GEM OF THE OCEAN |
This Page features "God Bless America" as background music.
Unfortunately, starting in 2006, you can no longer view the
Page simultaneously with optional music selected by you.
You can continue to select and listen to your optional music icons,
but you will be listening on a blank browser only.
We apologize for this new commercial host created inconvenience.
O Columbia the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine of each patriot's devotion,
A
world offers homage to thee.
Thy mandates make heroes assemble,
When Liberty's form stands in view;
Thy banners make
tyranny tremble
When borne by the red, white, and blue!
There are those, we know, who attack Hollywood currently, and some of its anti-American stars. And their argument
has legs to it.
But Hollywood has been part of America's history since its beginnings in the early 1900's. Americans, almost overnight
in all cases, became enduring fanatics for its motion pictures, its songs, its stars and, later, its television productions,
videos, DVDs and .mp3's. Hollywood, for better or for worse, is part of America's culture. To many foreigners, both back then in
the early days of the moving pictures as well as today, Hollywood IS our culture.
This Page, among other things, is the Association's reminder to the world of the contribution of Hollywood and its stars
to American patriotism and the cause of America over the years in the world. And, trust us, it's not all bad news.
Those causes, patriotism and the cause of the United States, are the causes of the United States Navy Veterans Association.
This Page lists by picture, song and text, those stars, alive or dead, in the arts and entertainment
world, who have supported over the years, in some substantial way, those causes.
And, just as the stars mentioned here have entertained us, the United States Navy Veterans Association hopes this Page
entertains you as well.
This Page is not meant as an endorsement of the political beliefs, or politics, of any particular
person. This Page is meant as a statement of gratitude from the Association as to what these individuals [from the Bob Hope
era on; we've got to start somewhere, folks, and we can't think of a better place than Hope] have done for the
United States of America, and to encourage them, if they are still alive, to keep up the good work.
And we encourage your patronage of their works, productions and endeavors.
In certain cases, you can go to the best website of our Stars simply by clicking on their
pictures.
| Hollywood and Vine |
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| Circa 1959 |
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BOB HOPE:
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
| BOB HOPE |
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| Mentioned First For Obvious Reasons |
"To give you a little idea of how long these guys have been at sea,
their pinup girl is Phyllis Diller."
- Bob Hope, performing on board a USN aircraft carrier during a Vietnam
Tour
This man, who was portrayed as a coward in so many road movies which made us laugh
so hard, was the bravest entertainer of all times. The last American service thousands of our Marines who died invading Pelelieu
during World War II saw, the day before, was Hope. He is an American saint, and if he isn't, he ought to be.
Bob Hope was born in England on May 29, 1903.
He died on July 27, 2003.
| Bob with the troops |
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| Somewhere in the Pacific during World War II |
Hear Hope's Thanks For the Memories
THE PRE-WAR YEARS TO THE 1940's
Ethel Waters, born Ethel Howard in 1896, and raised in a Philadelphia ghetto, was the first
to sing "Stormy Weather" on Broadway, in the 1930's. She had what was called at the time, in refusing minstrelsy performances
at great financial cost to her, "race pride."
The song "Stormy Weather" was made famous by another American patriot, Lena Horne, born in 1917, who
explicitly told 1950's and '60's radicals in this country that she did not need to denounce America to be an American.
Unlike their songstress and historical predecessor from the 1920's, Josephine Baker, neither Waters
nor Horne chose to move to France because an element of the white American audience thought they were too radical. These two
ladies stood for it, and stood fast.
They were both Americans first.
| Marian Anderson singing America the Beautiful |
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| Lincoln Memorial, Easter Sunday, 1939 |
| Joe Louis showed the world |
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| our boxers were as good as Hitler's. |
Kate Smith introduced "God Bless America," by Irving Berlin, during her radio
broadcast on Armistice Day, 1938
| As did Groucho Marx and his brothers. |
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| Betty Boop and her friends |
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| cheered us up during the Great Depression. |
| As did Shirley Temple and her friends. |
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Irving Berlin wrote the play and song "This Is the Army," which opened on Broadway
on July 4th, 1942. 300 men were in the opening chorus, performed on the first Independence Day after America's entry into
the World War against Hitler's atrocities and Japanese ultranationalism.
Berlin himself served as a troubadour for our troops overseas during World War II.
He loved America, and loved her greatly.
| Gary Cooper starred in "Sergeant York," |
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| released in 1941, right before our entry into World War II. |
The motion picture
"Sergeant York," starring Gary Cooper, is the story of U.S. Army Sergeant Alvin York, a pacifist from the Ozarks,
who became one of America's greatest World War I heroes. When Cooper's "You done gimme command" line erupts from the
speakers, the viewer is on the edge of his seat, already entranced by the personal heroism of this quiet man. What York
did in the war, capturing 132 Germans in France, was real. This is the kind of film that makes one proud to
be an American.
| Bing Crosby entertained our troops |
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| in World War II |
Bob and Bing:"The Road to Morrocco"
As of Christmas, 1942, the Bing Crosby hit "White Christmas" became the
national favorite of U.S. Armed Forces fighting World War II overseas in the Pacific, on the shores of North Africa, and in
England. Bing became so popular in motivating our troops Nazi soldiers, who also listened to him on their radios, nicknamed
him "Der Bingel."
Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"
| Rita Hayworth pumps for the |
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| World War II steel donation effort. |
| Mickey Rooney entertained our troops |
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| during World War II |
Glenn Miller's "In the Mood"
What Glenn tried to do, in his own words, was to "put a liittle bit more spring in the step of our marching men,
and give them some joy." We need more like him today.
| Betty Hutton was the original |
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| Girl from Kalamazoo |
"I've Got A Girl In Kalamazoo"
| As did George Burns and Gracie Allen. |
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| And Mickey himself sold war bonds. |
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| The Andrews Sisters Inspired us |
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| during World War II. |
Click here for the Andrews Sisters
| From World War II to Vietnam, Martha Raye |
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| really loved our troops, |
| Abbott and Costello made being in the Army |
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| or Navy seem like fun. |
| Humphrey Bogart, in Casablanca, told the Nazis |
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| that an American's fears were his own concern. |
| And Ingrid Bergman, in the same film, |
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| spoke for Occupied Europe, and for love. |
Ronald Reagan and Errol Flynn teamed up for this production, Desperate
Journey,
in which they beat the Nazis cold, bombed Berlin, and then escaped in a car.
President Ronald Reagan died at age 93 at his Bel-Air, California home, attended by his wife Nancy
and his children Ronnie and Patti, on June 5, 2004. He was America's oldest President. He believed that every
day was a sunrise in America, that America's best days lie in front of her, and that America could do great things on the
world stage, if necessary, all by herself.
His Administration, and his legacy, proved that all of that, every word of it and even more, was
true then, and is still true today.
Ronald Reagan is buried on the grounds of the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
He was the defining President of the second half of the 20th Century, a century which belonged to
America. For the hard core enemies of the United States, it was always 'High Noon' for him. For the hard core enemies of the
United States today, speaking for the membership of the United States Navy Veterans Association, it is still 'High Noon.'
When Reagan got his first job after college, and during the height of the Great Depression, as
a sports announcer for Radio Station WHO in Des Moines, and not knowing where his future would lie, or even whether he'd be
employed the day after tomorrow, he sent home a full 1/3rd of his paycheck to his mother, for her and his sick father, each
and every week.
Ronald Reagan also starred in the B-movie Hellcats of the Navy, where he met the love of
his life, his wife, Nancy.
| Clark Gable served during World War II after his |
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| wife, Carole Lombard, was killed during a war bond drive. |
| Jimmy Stewart was a Lt. Colonel in the USAAF |
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| during World War II. |
Over 16 million Americans served under arms during
World War II, about 22% of the total population
which could have arguably been asked to serve.
That figure today would mean an active Armed Forces
of over 40 million men and women.
Over 400 of our professional baseball players
volunteered for service in World War II.
She always sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for the USO, and for us, during
World War II. When President Kennedy, naval World War II hero, talked to her on the phone, he always asked her to sing that
song for him, and she always did.
After President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Judy sang, once, in his honor,
one of the loveliest, and strongest, renditions of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" ever rendered. Her Battle Hymn is featured
on many Pages of this Site, including this one.
May God Bless Judy Garland.
May God Bless Jack Kennedy, President and U.S.
Navy Hero,
And May God Bless America.
... and yeah, Judy, and we hope you hear this,
we think, as you said on the Jack Paar Show, that the munchkins looked to us like they were drunk, too.
Judy Garland died at age 47.
Judy's Battle Hymn of the Republic
THE 1950'S AND 1960'S
| Lauren Bacall set the example |
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| of the modern American woman. |
| And Lucille Ball was the modern American housewife |
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| of the 1950's. |
| Our entertainers were flown to Korea |
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| during the Korean War from Japan. |
| If Marilyn wanted to entertain our troops |
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| Even Joe couldn't stop her. |
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Site Index and Guide to the Site ************************* 
(1) Pages About the Association: ***************************************************************** ***************** Mission Statement: Who We Are and What We Do ************************ ***************** Homeport: A History of the United States Navy Veterans Association *************** *********** Veterans Outreach Programs **************************************** ****************** Current Advocacy and Achievements: Legislation and U.S. Government Policy ****** ************* Convention, Membership and Contributions Information/Do Not Call List **************** ******* Navy Eagle Circle ************** ************************* Navy Community Foundation Fund Awards, Endorsements and Compliments ************************************************ State and Overseas Chapters/Contribution Processing Centers ******************************* Membership Application *************************************************************** Governmental Disclosures ************************************************ * Annual Report 
(2) Pages About the U.S. Navy: ***************************************************************** **************** History of the United States Navy *************** ************************* News of the Navy U.S. Navy Enlisted Personnel and Officers' Insignia ***************************************** A Brief History of the United States Naval Academy ***************** United States Navy Seabees United States Navy Seals ********************* *********************** Virtual Navy Wall 
