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Military

Robin Williams A Beloved Figure On USO Tours (Video)

Robin Williams takes a picture with the troops in Kuwait, 2007.
USO
Robin Williams takes a picture with the troops in Kuwait, 2007.

Actor Robin Williams, who died Monday at age 63 of an apparent suicide, had visited both Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010 as part of a USO tour to bring entertainment to the troops during the holidays. But it was his visit to Kuwait in 2007, and how his military audience reacted during the retreat ceremony, that might have been the most memorable.

Williams was in the middle of entertaining service members on the evening of Dec. 6, 2007 at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait when the base's retreat ceremony began. According to About.com, the soldiers in the audience behaved exactly as they should have:

When persons not assigned to a formation are outdoors and in uniform, on the first note of retreat, they should face the flag (if visible) or music and assume the position of parade rest.

This threw Williams for a bit of a loop, but he reacted with his characteristic lightning-fast wit. Take a look below:

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Robin Williams as troops "Retreat" at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait