7 celebrities who went above and beyond to lift our troops' spirits

In 2007, actor and comedian Robin Williams traveled to Kuwait for an appearance at Camp Arifjan.

Williams was doing his best to entertain the troops when they suddenly stopped paying attention to the stage. They immediately shifted their focus behind them to render honors as the American flag was lowered. Williams wasn’t so much offended as mildly perplexed. At first, he didn’t understand what was going on.

Related: Bob Hope entertained the troops from WWII to Desert Storm

Once the service members explained it to Williams, he brought it back to why he traveled 8,000 miles from home.

“Sort of reminds you why we’re here, doesn’t it?” Williams replied, according to a 2014 Defense Department article.

Here are seven celebrities who were committed to showing their appreciation for the United States military.

Bob Hope

We start with the OG of military entertainers. Hope performed for troops domestically and overseas for five decades, beginning with a performance at March Field in California in 1941. Hope, whose “Road to…” films with Bing Crosby became popular with moviegoers, never tired of traveling to see troops.

His 57 tours with the United Service Organizations conveyed his appreciation to his adopted country. Born in London in 1903, Hope moved to America at an early age. He became a U.S. citizen when he was 17 years old.

“He brought such enthusiasm, brought your life back to you,” Navy Seabee Ron Ronning said of Hope’s last USO show during the Vietnam War in late 1972. “You felt like you were renewed.”

Hope died on July 27, 2003, at the age of 100.

Toby Keith

Lee Greenwood has “God Bless the USA,” perhaps the quintessential patriotic song. Few singers, though, compiled a music catalog that honored the military quite like Keith.

The “American Soldier,” “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue,” and “Call a Marine” singer participated in 18 USO tours. By one estimate, he performed in front of 250,000-plus troops in 17 countries. When mortar fire interrupted a set in Afghanistan, Keith left the stage. He and troops sprinted about a hundred yards to a concrete bunker. There, he signed autographs until he could return to doing what he did best.

“I’ve met so many great, brave service men and women over the years and had so many wonderful experiences, that I can barely remember them all,” Keith said in 2012. “… I won’t ever stop doing my part to extend my thanks.”

Keith died in 2024 at the age of 62.

Jay Leno

Leno replaced Johnny Carson as the host of “The Tonight Show in 1992. After he gave up that sweet gig in 2014, the late-night comedian had a relatively free schedule. Later that year, Leno participated in NBC’s “Today”/USO Comedy Tour and performed for a thousand-plus service members in Afghanistan.

Leno met Cpl. Ethan Laberge—a fellow car enthusiast— at Bagram Airfield, CNN reported in November 2014. At that time, Laberge battled a traumatic brain injury and underwent several surgeries after a suicide bombing. After they returned to the states, Leno took Laberge for a spin in a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat on Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

When they finished, Leno gifted the car to Laberge and jokingly made him promise not to speed.

“Everybody helps the soldiers with medical issues and all those important things, but sometimes, that can be like getting socks for Christmas,” Leno explained to CNN. “You want to give them something that’s fun, something that has nothing to do with what happened to them.”

Marilyn Monroe

Norma Jeane Dougherty worked in a defense plant during World War II while her husband served overseas. Dougherty left factory work behind, becoming a successful model and then a famous actress and singer. Along the way, she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. Her appreciation for the military remained steadfast throughout her life.

Monroe was so committed that she jumped at the chance to meet U.S. troops in Korea in February 1954. The “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” star performed in front of roughly 100,000 servicemen across various military bases. She did this all while interrupting her honeymoon with her second husband, New York Yankees star Joe DiMaggio.

Monroe, who died August 4, 1962, at the all-too-young age of 36, never forgot her interaction with service members.

“[The trip] was the best thing that ever happened to me,” Monroe said. “I never felt a star before in my heart. It was so wonderful to look down and see a fellow smiling at me.”

Gary Sinise

Coming from a military family, Sinise always respected the men and women in uniform.

His advocacy became much more pronounced after he landed the defining role of his career. Sinise played Lt. Dan Taylor in the Academy Award-winning movie “Forrest Gump” in 1994. (Sinise landed a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.)

Since the early 2000s, Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band have played an average of 30-40 shows annually for service members in the U.S. and around the world. In 2011, he started an eponymous foundation to support military families and first responders.

Because of his military-centric endeavors, the Navy made Sinise an honorary chief petty officer, and the Marine Corps bestowed honorary Marine status upon him. Called “this generation’s Bob Hope,” Sinise also regularly co-hosts the National Memorial Day Concert.

“All I do is find my mark, say my lines,” Sinise wrote in his 2019 book, “Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service.” “Hard work is being far from home and up to your elbows in dust, crawling along the ground while the enemy shoots at you, wondering when the bullets will stop flying long enough so you can grab an MRE and wolf down your next meal.”

Carrie Underwood

Fresh off her victory on “American Idol,” Underwood traveled to Iraq and Kuwait. She sang in front of a couple of thousand service members in 2006. Earlier that year, the country music singer performed for free for military members at a NASCAR race in Concord, North Carolina.

Throughout her career, Underwood has honored the military through her powerful voice. She did so in such songs as “Just a Dream” and “See You Again.” Then there was “Keep Us Safe”— a song she specifically co-wrote for a television special in 2014.

Underwood told The Hollywood Reporter that she wanted the song to be a surprise.

“I kept it to myself, because you never know how things are going to turn out,” she recalled. “If I told everybody I wanted to write a song and I had writer’s block, that would be terrible.”

Like those in the military, Underwood delivered.

Robin Williams

Williams first began touring with the USO in 2002. He was hooked. The Academy Award-winning actor (for “Good Will Hunting”) traveled overseas to spread laughs among the troops several more times before his death in 2014. One estimate placed the number of service members that Williams entertained at nearly 90,000.

The actor made himself accessible. During one tour, the plane carrying Williams stopped in Ireland to refuel. Williams didn’t stay in his seat. Instead, he noticed a group of 150 National Guardsmen waiting to return home. Williams got off the plane, shook their hands, and never refused a request for a picture.

Williams thought nothing of his generosity.

“They work hard, sacrifice a lot, and deserve to be treated like the heroes they are,” Williams said. “The very least I can do is bring a smile to their faces.”

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