SAN DIEGO -- The U.S. Postal Service held a ceremony on the flight deck of the USS Midway Friday to mark the release of a stamp commemorating the late Bob Hope on what would have been his 106th birthday.

The 44-cent stamp pays tribute to the decades of work Hope did entertaining America's men and women in uniform, according to the USPS.

Hope did not serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, but beginning in 1941 through Desert Storm, he gave hundreds of performances overseas to entertain members of the armed forces, earning the nickname "G.I. Bob."

He was recognized by Congress as an "honorary veteran of the United States Armed Forces" in 1997.

"The first-class stamp that we are unveiling is a wonderful portrait that preserves the memory of a first-class citizen, Bob Hope," said Michael J. Daley, vice president of the USPS' Pacific Area. "It is indeed time for us to say to him, thanks for the memory."

Hope's daughter, Linda, and his son, Kelly, also attended Friday's ceremony at the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum.

"I know dad would have been thrilled by this honer," Linda Hope said. "But, he probably would have joked about the increase in the price of stamps."

Hope was born in England on May 29, 1903. He died July 27, 2003. His wife, Dolores, celebrated her 100th birthday on Wednesday at the Toluca Lake home she shared with her husband.