COLUMBUS (AP) — An exhibit exploring comedian Bob Hope’s major tours and travels during World War II is set to open this month at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Ohio.

“So Ready for Laughter: The Legacy of Bob Hope” opens Friday and runs through April 17 at the museum in Columbus. The exhibit features nearly 50 artifacts and an original 11-minute documentary. This marks its first stop outside The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, where it originated.

It’s a return home of sorts for Hope, who died in 2003. He grew up in Cleveland and once owned a small stake in the Cleveland Indians.

Hope spent a long stretch of his nearly 80-year career performing in USO shows for active-duty troops. He made nearly 60 tours for the United Service Organization, in both wartime and peacetime, between 1941 and 1991.