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LV G.I. audience assembled at Da Nang camp (2 shots)
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SV ZOOM IN..Bob Hope on stage during show
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GV Troops applauding
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SV Bob Hope telling jokes to troops
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SV Troops applauding (2 shots)
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SV Bob Hope leads pretty girl on stage
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SCU Troops watching
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SV Hope talking to troops from stage
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GV Troops applauding
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GV's show company and Hope sign Christmas carols with troops watching (3 shots)
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Initials ES. 2129 ES. 2141



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: American comedian Bob Hope - whose Christmas visits have become an institution with U.S. troops overseas - cheered a huge G.I. audience at Da Nang camp on Tuesday (21 December).

Despite reports that many soldiers were angered by the comedian's support of President Nixon's Vietnam policy, thousands waited in the rain to get a seat to hear his show. Hope's old-fashioned fast-quipping brand of comedy laced with a healthy dose of pretty girls seemed to delight his audience.

Last week U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers revealed that Mr. Hope had the backing of his government's officials in South-East Asia in making contact with the North Vietnamese. Earlier Mr. Hope had said in Bangkok that he was trying to go to Hanoi to seek a ransom deal for the release of American prisoners-of-war.