The tragic and sudden death of Robin Williams, 63, saddened the world on Monday morning, but his support for the troops is what many of his fans are talking about today.
Williams was among the first of America’s celebrities to visit the armed forces in a war zone, and in the span of his life he visited more than 89,000 military personnel in both Iraq and Afghanistan with the United Service Organization.
His film career was multi-dimensional, but you might recall the 1987 flick Good Morning, Vietnam, in which he transformed into an armed forces radio DJ, improvised most of his material, and did what he did best–made the world laugh.
“Good morning, Vietnam! Hey, this is not a test. This is rock and roll. Time to rock it from the delta to the DMZ,” he ad-libbed in the war movie more than two decades ago.
The world-renowned comedian became affiliated with the military off the big screen and boosted the morale of thousands of service members in 13 different countries.
“I come here, for you. Because I believe you’re amazing,” he told a group of soldiers while visiting Kuwait in December of 2007.
After Williams entertained large groups of service men and women during the main show, he would reportedly sneak away to visit the active duty troops who were unable to attend.
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