August 2, 1944

(In early August, Bob Hope and other Hollywood entertainers arrived at Bougainville as part of a Pacific USO tour for soldiers. Among the documents in Vic's trunk was a mimeographed copy of Hope's Bougainville version of his theme song 'Thanks for the Memories'. The photo shows Hope performing in Bougainville with Jerry Colonna and Tony Romano on guitar. The mimeographed lyrics are shown below. )

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Thanks for the memories>
For long nights in the rain
And sweat and mud and pain
You did your bit, you must admit
To drive us all insane
We thank you so much
Thanks for the memories
For headaches without cause
Your strategy with flaws
Ideas mixed, rotation fixed
Your simple childish laws
We thank you so much
Oh many the orders you have pasted
And many the days we have wasted
And much is the spam we have tasted
We must confess
T'was quite a mess
Oh thanks for the memories
You'd steal, lie, cheat, connive
We're lucky we're alive
We leave today - So now we say
We loathe the one three five
We hate you so much

Oh thanks for the memories
At least ten million men
Have roared and cursed and then
They've snarled and scowled and groaned and growled
But, still, they say again -
We thank you so much


Oh thanks for the memories
Of O.D. painted cars
And twinkling tropic stars
And G.I. stuff we've had enough
Of stripes and leaves and bars
We thank you so much
In mud we have scrambled and slithered
In sunshine we have roasted and quivered
In cold we have shaken and shivered -
But now w'e through -
So nuts to you -
And thanks for the memories With eighty-five and more
We leave this distant shorte
From now on in its cokes and gin
The Army will ignore -
Banzai! Goodbye