GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ON ACTIVE DUTY, RESERVES, AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE PROUDLY SERVED BEFORE.
A partial list of real Hollywood heroes who suspended their careers to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces after America was attacked on December 7, 1941:
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Eddie Albert - U.S. Navy … Saw combat on Saipan and Tarawa. Earned the Bronze Star.
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James Arness - U.S.Army, 3rd infantry division Italy, severely wounded and left with a lifelong limp
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Gene Autry – U.S. Army Air Corps … Flew cargo planes in China, Burma and India
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Humphrey Bogart – U.S. Navy … Wounded in World War I, he tried to enlist after Pearl Harbor but was turned down because of his age.
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Charles Bronson - U. S. Army tailgunner aboard a B-29 Superfortress over the skies of Japan and was also awarded the Purple Heart for wounds.
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Mel Brooks - U.S. Army… served as a forward artillery observer
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Johnny Carson - U.S. Navy officer
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Jackie Coogan – U.S. Army Air Corps … Volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group
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Tony Curtis - U.S. Navy submarine duty
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Sammy Davis, Jr. – U.S. Army … Assigned to Special Services Command
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Kirk Douglas - U.S. Army
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Charles Durning - Served in very intense combat from Omaha beach to the Battle of the Bulge as a infantryman and was wounded no less than three times in a year while being awarded the silver star for valor.
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Buddy Epsen - Coast Guard officer
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Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. – U.S. Navy … Served on a battleship and as a commando raider. Helped to organize the forerunners of today’s Navy SEALs. Won a silver star while serving on PT Boats in combat.
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Henry Fonda - U.S. Navy … Served aboard a destroyer in the Pacific. Earned a Bronze Star for Valor.
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Glenn Ford – U.S. Marine Corps … Earned a number of citations and awards for combat action. After the war, he transferred his commission to the U.S. Naval Reserve.
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John Ford (director) – U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, landed on Omaha Beach at Normandy
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Clark Gable – U.S. Army Air Corps … Enlisted in 1942 at age 41. Volunteered for combat duty and flew missions over Germany. Earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. Gable joined the Army Air Corps and led a film section making training films. Unsatisfied with this he flew on combat missions over Germany where his biggest fan Adolf Hitler placed a bounty on his head if captured alive.
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Charlton Heston – U.S. Army Air Corps … B-25 gunner; saw action in the Pacific.
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Hal Holbrook - Served in Canada with the Army
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William Holden – U.S. Army Air Corps … Served 1942-1945. His brother, a U.S. Navy pilot, was killed in the Pacific in 1944.
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Rock Hudson - U.S. Navy aircraft mechanic in the Philippines.
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Brian Keith – U.S. Marine Corps … Saw combat on Rabal
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Werner Klemperer – U.S. Army … Stationed in Hawaii as a Military Policeman, he auditioned for and was accepted into Maurice Evans’ Special Services unit.
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Harvey Korman - U.S. Navy
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Nancy Kulp – U.S. Navy … Served as a Navy WAVE
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Bert Lancaster – U.S. Army … Served in Tunisia and Italy
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Lee Marvin - U.S. Marine participating in the invasions at Kwajalein and Eniwetok and was wounded on Saipan
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Ed McMahon – U.S. Marine Corps … Became a fighter pilot in 1944. Recalled to active duty in 1952 for the Korean War and flew 85 combat missions. Remained in the Air National Guard until 1966 when he retired as a Brigadier General.
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Burgess Meredith – U.S. Army Air Corps
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Glenn Miller – U.S. Army … Assigned to the Army Specialist Corps. Convinced the Military that he could modernize the Army Band and improve the morale of the troops. Organized the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band. His plane disappeared on 15 December 1944 over the English Channel.
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Robert Montgomery – U.S. Navy … Enlisted in the British Military before American joined the war and drove ambulances in France until the Dunkirk invasion. When America entered the war, he joined the U.S. Navy and served as a Naval Attaché on British destroyers hunting German U-Boats. He commanded a PT boat and participated in the D-Day invasion aboard a destroyer.
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Wayne Morris – U.S. Navy … Flew 57 combat missions in the Pacific. Shot down seven Japanese aircraft, becoming an “Ace”. Credited with assisting the sinking of five Japanese warships.
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Paul Newman - U.S. Navy radioman in torpedo bombers
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Tyrone Power – U.S. Marine Corps … Enlisted immediately after Pearl Harbor. Flew wounded Marines from Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
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Gene Raymond - Served in both World War II and Vietnam
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Ronald Reagan – U.S. Army Air Corps … Enlisted in the Army Reserve in 1937; commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and was called to active duty in 1942. Because of a hearing loss, he was not allowed to fly, so he was assigned to make training films.
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Don Rickles - U.S. Navy
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John Russell – U.S. Marine Corps … Wounded at Guadalcanal
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Robert Ryan - U.S. Marine Corps … Served with the O.S.S. in Yugoslavia
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Soupy Sales - U.S. Navy
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Rod Serling – U.S. Army … Was a paratrooper with the 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific where he specialized in combat demolitions. Severely wounded by shrapnel during the invasion of the Philippines.
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Rod Steiger - U.S. Navy
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Jimmy Stewart – U.S. Army Air Corps … Flew B-17 and B-24 combat missions, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, France’s Croix de Guerre and 7 Battle Stars. His son, 1st Lt. Ronald McLean, was killed in Vietnam in 1969.
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Buddy Hackett, Jack Paar, Bob “Captain Kangaroo” Keeshan, Jack Klugman, Red Skelton, Robert Stack, Lee Van Cleef, Dick Van Dyke, also served, although they never saw combat. Musician Desi Arnaz was drafted but after being hurt in boot camp served the rest of the war helping with the USO. Dean Martin was drafted into the army and served for a year in Ohio before being found 4-F and discharged
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These actors attempted to serve but were turned down because of medical conditions … Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Peter Lawford, Gregory Peck, George Raft, John Wayne and Richard Widmark
A complete list of Hollywood ‘heroes’ who suspended their careers to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces after America was attacked on September 11, 2001:
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the men and women in uniform who defend our freedom and fight with honor and dignity. I am humbly respectful and in awe of your collective bravery.
And thank you BNI, you are a warrior too and deserve to be honored for your relentless exposure of the truth. I respect the hell out of you. Cheers!!!
NA, thanks for the kind words, but today is reserved for military honors.
wasn’t Muhammad Ali one of those who’s bravery was never in doubt?:(
The muslim-in-chief will have no regards to them.
Bonni, my husband say’s your welcome and thank you for all you do here at home “trying your best” to get the masses to wake up to the serious and real threat of Islam.
If your ever up this way, I would be honored to give you one of the flags my husband carried with him when he was in the first group to “carpet bomb” Afghanistan after 9-11.
West won a partial recount in Florida (I’m sure you already knew) but if not, I hope this makes your day.
Thanks N, and our heartfelt gratitude to your husband. I’ve been watching the West recount but don’t want to talk about it until he wins. I would like to see recounts in all the State that did not require photo ID. Romney won in all that did.
Your intel is amazing!
I did not see her mentioned here but Martha Raye also served as an Army Nurse in combat zones while also serving the troops as an entertainer. Unfortunately videos were not made of her performances.
Martha may not have been as beautiful in the world’s eyes as some of our current women celebrities, but she had CHARACTER.
My heart is still broken over the trashing of our nation that these patriots sacrificed to protect, for Obama phones and free contraceptives.
Sorry Bonni I meant to say he won in court to have a partial recount, not he won the recount. Long night
N, why only a partial recount?
John Ford also was at the battle of Midway and gave us the grapes of wrath.
MMM, what happened to that patriotic Hollywood of back then?
Liberals on a PC high.
got that right. thanks veterans
God bless the Marines! God bless our military! God bless those who have given their lives for our freedom!
It sorrows my soul to know that all has been sacrificed has now been handed to the enemy by the ISLAMO-SOCIALIST MINIONS. The left have no idea what they have done, and they DO NOT deserve to enjoy freedom. It is my personal belief that almighty God will see to it that it is REMOVED soon!
Shame Shame Shame on them. And shame on us for continuing to support their narcissistic lives. Only celeb I know of was an athlete, Pat Tillman. God bless him. I think he was a victim of friendly fire. Regardless of how it happened, it happened in combat that he volunteered for and I owe him a debt.
SMA, I didn’t include him because this was only about Hollywood so-called heroes. This generation of overpaid no-talent ‘stars’ are garbage compared to the Hollywood stars back then. Can’t remember the last time I paid to see a movie.
i agree with you BNI but Tilman was special in that he was a rising star who just got a huge contract that he turned down to serve after 9-11. sadly killed by friendly fire.
A quibble. The Philippines was not invaded by the US. It was LIBERATED.
Merian C. Cooper – U.S. Army Air Forces. A WW1 pilot, then volunteer pilot in Polish-Soviet war (Lt.Col. of Polish Air Force, Silver Cross of Virtuti Militari), during WW2 he re-enlisted and was commissioned a colonel in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He served with Col. Robert L. Scott in India as a logistics liaison for the Doolittle Raid. They then went to Dinjan Airfield, Assam, and with Col. Caleb V. Haynes, a bomber pilot, set up the Assam-Burma-China Ferrying Command, which was the origin of The Hump Airlift. He later served in China as chief of staff for General Claire Chennault of the China Air Task Force — precursor of the Fourteenth Air Force — then from 1943 to 1945 in the Southwest Pacific as chief of staff for the Fifth Air Force’s Bomber Command.
Leading many missions and carefully planning them to minimize loss of life, he was known for his hard work and relentless planning. At the end of the war, he was promoted to brigadier general. For his contributions, he was also aboard the USS Missouri to witness Japan’s surrender.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merian_C._Cooper
Extremely informative, Ms. BNI!!!
Wow, I didn’t fully realise how truly-PATRIOTIC Americans were not only in World Wars I and II, but even in the Vietnam War. Alas, THAT IS WHEN the “baby-boomer” Commies first started to surface and make serious trouble, including traitresses like Jane Fonda (presumably Henry Fonda’s daughter?). People like her didn’t deserve ANY Presidential pardon: they should have been sent to the USSR, Albania, North Korea and other such Communist countries. Perhaps THEN they would have learned to appreciate the West for what it used to be and has been up to now – though likely the Commies and their Moslem allies will destroy or severely damage it very soon…
There also were not a few real British, French and other patriots. It really seems that Karl Marx and his minions have utterly DESTROYED the Western world – later than Ñikíta Sjergjéjevich Khrushchjóv said would happen (“We’ll bury you!”), but happen it finally has…
THANK YOU BI! I AM A DISABLED VET WHO WAS INSPIRED GROWING UP WATCHING THESE TRUE PATRIOTS AND AM SICKENED BY WHAT HOLLYWOOD IS TODAY! GOD BLESS YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO AS APTRIOT ALERTING THE FREE WORLD OF SATANIC ISLAM!
Thank YOU for your service, mmm.
sorry for the capitals but i was so happy to see someone who listed all the Hollywood heroes of the past. Ted Williams who i think was the greatest hitter of all time in baseball served in 2 wars at the peak of his career and still finished with 521 hr’s. the stars of today care only of how much for me me me! i only pointed out my service because they honestly made me feel what an honor it is to serve your country. unfortunately we have been taken over from within. my sons and my whole family has a long history in military. my uncle was at pear harbor when it was attacked and another died at the battle of the bulge. i am rambling but thankyou once again! it is heartfelt.
mmm, it’s a shame that we are losing our greatest generation.
This retired Army grunt reposted your excellent article (with full credit and a link to here, of course) since I don’t think I could have come up with a better one.
Thanks.
And thank YOU for your service, ts. We love, respect, and support our military at this site.