I received this in an email from my dad quite a long while ago, but I felt it was still appropriate just because, well, Hollywood can’t keep their anti-everything views to themselves
“On The Flip Side of Hollywood: In contrast to the ideals, opinions and feelings of today’s “Hollywonk” the real actors of yesteryear loved the United States. They had both class and integrity. With the advent of World War many of our actors went to fight rather than stand and rant against this country we all love. They gave up their wealth, position and fame to become service men &women, many as simple “enlisted men.” This page lists but a few, but from this group of only 18 men came over 70 medals in honor of their valor, spanning from Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguish Service Cross’, Purple Hearts and one Congressional Medal of Honor. So remember; while the “entertainers” have been in all of the news media lately (for it seems News Paper, Television and Radio has been more than ready to put them and their anti-American, anti-Bush message before the public) I would like to remind the people of what the entertainers of 1943 were doing, (60 years ago). Most of these brave men have since passed on.
Real Hollywood Heroes
Alec Guinness (Star Wars) operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.
James Doohan (”Scotty” on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day.
Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an R. A. F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.
David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.
Earnest Borgnine was a U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.
Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U. S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.
Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific.
James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel. During World War II, Stewart served as a bomber pilot, his service record crediting him with leading more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty. Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France’s Croix de Guerre, and 7 Battle Stars during World War II. In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950s.
Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.
Charles Durning was a U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart.
Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered WW II, Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers’ Candidate School at Miami Beach, Fla. and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943 he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook where flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943 and was relieved from active duty as a major on Jun. 12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age for combat.
Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.
Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the U.S. Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
George C. Scott was a decorated U. S. Marine.
Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was wounded earning the Purple Heart.
John Russell: In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal.
Robert Ryan was a U. S. Marine who served with the O. S. S. in Yugoslavia…
Audie Murphy, little 5′5″ tall 110 pound guy from Texas who played cowboy parts was the Most Decorated serviceman of WWII and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with “V”, 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.
So how do you feel the real heroes of the silver screen acted when compared to the hollywonks today who spew out anti-American drivel as they bite the hand that feeds them? Can you imagine these stars of yesteryear saying they hate our flag, making antiwar speeches, marching in anti-American parades and saying they hate our president? I thought not, neither did I!”
Here are more stars/celebrities who have served their country during war and peace:
WWII:
Don Adams (Get Smart) – Marines
Gene Autry (The Singing Cowboy) – Air Transport Command
Tony Bennett – Army
Mel Brooks – Army
Art Carney (The Honeymooners) – Army
Johnny Carson – Navy
Julia Childs (chef) – O.S.S.
Tony Curtis – Navy
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. – Naval Reserves (Created the “beach jumpers” of WWII)
Henry Fonda – Naval Intelligence Officer (so what happened with Jane?!)
Malcolm Forbes – Army
Glenn Ford – Navy (served in the reserves during Korea and Viet Nam)
Alan Hale (Gilligan’s Island) – Coast Guard
Jason Robards – Navy (he was a radioman and was on duty when Pearl Harbor was bombed)
Andy Rooney – Army (served with the Artillery Regiment then wrote for Stars & Stripes)
Mickey Rooney – Army
Charles Schultz (cartoonist) – Army
Rod Serling (Twilight Zone) – Army
Rod Steiger – Navy (lied about his age and enlisted at age 16)
Jack Warden – Army (101st Airborne)
Jack Palance (Ripley�s Believe It or Not, City Slickers) – Army Air Corps (with the 455th bomb group. Required facial reconstruction from terrible injuries received in 1943 when his B17 crash landed in Britain)
Surprising/Interesting:
Jimi Hendrix – Army ‘61 (101st Airborne) (discharged when he broke his ankle on his 26th jump)
Audrey Hepburn – With the Resistance (courier) in Holland (she was a child)
Alan Alda – Army Reserve (had a 6 month tour in Korea!)
Humphrey Bogart – Navy (served in WWI, tried to enlist during WWII and was turned down-too old!)
Bill Cosby – Navy (trained as a corpsman and worked with Korean War casualties)
Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) – Navy (18 months, injured skateboarding and was medically discharged)
Steve McQueen – Marines (cited for saving lives, but was promoted & demoted quite often!)
Chuck Norris – Air Force (learned martial arts while stationed in Korea)
Montel Williams – Marines and Navy (go here to read more about his amazing service and see the others that I haven’t listed here!)
A reader, John Robert Mallernee, brought this particular person to my attention:
“Have you heard of the Rock band, IGGY POP?
Well, when they first started, back in 1962, they were known as the IGUANAS, and their bass guitar player was Carl Donald Swickerath. Don Swickerath served in the United States Army in Viet Nam, and now lives here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.”
Thank you, John for bringing Don to my attention!
Trackbacked to: Blue Star Chronicles
Anna,
This is strikingly odd. You beat me to this. I was bouncing around the idea of making a post on “Chickenhawks” and Hollywood today and yesteryear, in how today we have zero celebrities who enlisted post-9/11 out of patriotism (with very rare exceptions, such as Pat Tillman). I’ve been reading “America’s Victories”, and just yesterday was reading the chapter on “Citizen Soldiers” and all the Hollywood stars who enlisted either before or during wartime, and who enlisted after they had already become stars, as well as noting those who were soldiers first, becoming stars later in life.
I will link to this, but I’m not sure when I’ll make my post; I may do it soon, and forget about combining it with my chickenhawk post.
The book, btw, lists many celebs not on your list. But your list has a few names I haven’t heard about either, like James Doohan landing on Normandy.
Great minds, Word! My dad sent this to me in an email three years ago when all the Hollyweird-o’s were in a tiff because of our troops going into Iraq. I kept wondering what happened to the patriots in Hollywood! (BTW, thank you for adding another book to my “gotta read” list…I think it’s up to about 200 books now!)
Good job, Anna. The true “Stars” of yesteryear would be proud of you. I am.
Thank you, Dave! Interestingly enough, I have been finding more and more hits from Air Force bases and even one from DC (Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs!), I sure hope they like what they’re seeing!!
Did you mention Jack Palance? Great list !
I’m sorry, Paul, I will remedy that! (I can’t believe I missed him!)
Wow Anna this is really cool and very interesting to read.
Thank you, Linda! It’s bothered me for quite some time that so many celebrities would rather slam the military than to join it!
And remember that Clark Gable’s wife and great love – Carole Lombard – died in a plane crash during a War Bonds Tour. She died serving her nation.
They were different people back then. Less pampered than now, but still separate from the regular folks. Yet they still could feel the pull of patriotism, the desire to serve in defense of their nation.
Here are a couple of sports greats, since another person mentioned Tillman:
- Ted Williams, Baseball Hall of Famer, perhaps greatest pure hitter of all time: WW2 AND Korea. From Wiki entry: “Williams served as a US Marine pilot during both World War II and the Korean War, serving in the same unit (VMF-311) as John Glenn in the latter. These absences — taking almost five years out of the heart of a great career — significantly reduced his career totals.”
- Bob Feller, Hall of Fame Pitcher — from Wiki Entry: “On December 8, 1941 Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service. He was chief of an anti-aircraft gun crew of the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service in World War II, being decorated with five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars. Many baseball historians have speculated that Feller would have won perhaps 350 games with well over 3,000 strikeouts had he not joined the military.”
Tillman was an exception in today’s pampered sports world (similar to Hollywood). One NFL player openly ridiculed Tillman’s decision when he made it.
benning, I was considering adding Carole Lombards contribution, too and that her death was the catalyst for Gable’s service. He didn’t care if he died in combat because he had lost her, but he ended up doing more promotional work then combat. I would imagine that enlistment got quite a boost because of people like Jimmy Stewart and Audie Murphy and the rest because they were “every men” and heroes to so many already.
You’re right, Tom. There were a lot of athletes, too. Today they aren’t as vocal as Hollywood. I do remember that idiot making a comment about Pat Tillman’s decision to serve! But, you know, Tillman was a hero to kids wanting to play football, but she was also a hero because he answered the call of his country and you can’t say that of any other athletes these days!
Rocky Marciano was in the service, too. Drafted in 1943 and served 4 years. After his discharge he tried out for the Chicago Cubs…didn’t work out, so he became a boxer!
Remember that Audie Murphy was a star after he returned from War – he was just another guy when he went to war.
Rocky was such a classy boxer!
Tillman is the great tragedy of the Iraq War, in my mind.
Yes, benning, but even after that (1950), he joined the Texas National Guard and though he didn’t see action during Korea, he was still serving his country and did so until the ’60s.
It’s amazing that he Rocky been a slightly better ball player, he never would have gotten into the ring!
Pat Tillman’s death is a tragedy…
wow what a difference to the traitors and spoiled brats of todays cough cough..”stars’!..great post Anna!
It sure is Angel and thank you!
Great list! I can’t imagine any of these movie stars (and they were Movie Stars, unlike today’s vapid celebrities) making a pro-Nazi movie?
No, definitely not, Lady Jane, they were classy people.
Interesting and inspiring list.
If people want to ompare “then and now,” though, it would be more apt to comapre the Vietnam War and Iraq. How many stars (or current political leaders) volunteered for each? Maybe if we had been attacked by Iraq, rather than attacking that country on the basis of fabricated evidence, you’d see a more enthusiastic public.
Just a slight correction to your site regarding James Doohan: He was a member of the 13th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, and landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. So while it’s true he landed ‘with’ the US Army in the sense that the Canadian contingent hit their beach when the US elements were hitting theirs, he wasn’t a member of the US armed services.
Great list, though! I wasn’t aware that so celebrities have served their countries in unifrom – and it’s a damn shame that there’s such a paucity of ‘em now.
Here’s some linkage for you:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001150/bio
————————————–
On D-Day, his unit was assigned to land on Juno Beach (the Canadian beach – Gold and Sword were British, Omaha and Utah were American). When there, he and his fellow troopers passed right over a German minefield. Fortunately, the mines were calibrated for tanks, and the soldiers were able to pass over them harmlessly. Later that night, Doohan was ambushed by a German machine gun position, and received six wounds: one in his hand (severing his middle finger). four in his leg and one in his chest. The one in his chest would have proven fatal if not for a silver cigarette case he had in the breast pocket of his uniform.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Doohan
—————————————–
At the outbreak of the Second World War, aged 19, Doohan joined the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant in the 13th Field Regiment, part of the divisional artillery of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Doohan went to the United Kingdom in 1940 for what became years of training. His first combat assignment was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers along the way, Doohan led his unit to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines and took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 11:30 that night, Doohan took six hits from a German machine gun: four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case, and the shot finger was amputated (during his later screen acting career he would generally conceal this). Despite his wounds, Doohan remained in the military, trained as a pilot and flew an artillery observation plane, though he was once labeled the “craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Forces”. He was not actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, however, as he flew for one of three Air Observation Post Squadrons and remained an Army officer of the Royal Canadian Artillery.
William, thank you for the correction and all the interesting information!
Have you heard of the Rock band, IGGY POP?
Well, when they first started, back in 1962, they were known as the IGUANAS, and their bass guitar player was Carl Donald Swickerath.
Don Swickerath served in the United States Army in Viet Nam, and now lives here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home.
Is he famous enough to be added to your list of contemporary patriotic heroes?
Thank you.
Yes, I have heard of Iggy Pop, John and I truly appreciate you bringing Don’s military history to my attention! I will add him to the list!
The Don Swickerath from the Iguana’s (Iggy Pop’s band from Ann Arbor, Mi) was not in the Army and did not serve in Viet Nam. He is my Dad. His Uncle Carl Swickerath did serve in the military in WWII. But, Don did not serve in the military.
Also, one more note: The Don from the Iguanas does not live at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, but still resides in the Ann Arbor area in Michigan. The Iguanas band is not the same band where iggy found his fame, but his first band in high school where Iggy played the drums. More info can be found at http://www.answers.com/topic/the-iguanas-rock-band (or with a googe search). I am sorry that your buddy “Carl” was not the base player with Iggy Pop.
Sorry, Kurt, just added the information as it was given. I’ve learned my lesson and will check and verify. It’s actually pretty funny, I’ll check and verify news stories, but I still tend to take people at their word.
No problem
It is actually pretty funny that I happened upon this site, because I was searching for Carl Swickerath, who was a genuine war hero from WWII, and he was a friend of Audie Murphy.
The internet is a big place, it seems.
Very big! And yet in some ways, it’s made the world very small!
Human expansion unto frontiers has always been like that. Where wilderness and outlaws lived, now comes peace and prosperity. Where technology allows travel from a distant point to this point, in little time.
It is big because we have more places to go. It is small because a civilization united in infrastructure and commonality, becomes easier to reach.
This is a nice list! Though, I had a list similiar to this before, I feel that it is incomplete. Hence, I would like to add at least 3 more stars on your list. And, I may add more if I can think of more names.
1) Elvis Presley! Who can forget about him? He served in the U.S. Army and wore his uniform proudly. The publicity, press and news media were all over him!
2) Clint Eastwood. He mentioned in details on the Larry King Live show and on others that he was in the U.S. Army as a swimming instructor.
3) Drew Carey. He was serving in the USMC Reserves for 6 years! I believe he is still a Republican as of today.
I can only say that I didn’t think about Elvis because I had never really been a fan. The original list is from an e-mail from my dad and the majority of the others listed were from people like yourself letting me know.
I do remember hearing about Clint Eastwood being a swim instructor and I knew Drew Carey was in the reserves. (He’s from my area.) He’s also a libertarian. He’s been quoted as saying “I don’t believe there should be laws against drugs. I don’t think the government has the right to limit the ways I can hurt myself!” which pretty much sums it up!
I didn’t see Eddie Albert (Green Acres) on your list anywhere. He was a genuine WW II hero. Navy Lieutenant Edward Heimberger (Albert’s real name) made several trips in his salvage craft and exposed himself to withering fire to recsue scores of marines from a coral reef during the Tarawa invasion. His first boat got shot up so bad he had to swap it for another, which was loaded with drums of high octane gasoline. I do not know what kind of commendation he received for his actions, but in my book it comes close to the kind of thing befitting a Congessional Medal of Honor.
As cited in “The Battle History of the U.S. Marines” by Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (Ret.), page 152.
Thanks, Sean S.
This is a complete list of actors who suspended their careers to enlist in the United States Armed Forces after America was attacked and over 2000 civilians were murdered on September 11, 2001
None.
Hi Sean,
Thanks! I know that I didn’t get all of them. Thank you for adding Eddie Albert to the list!
Hi Steve,
Isn’t it sad that those in Hollywood don’t think this country or it’s citizens are worth fighting for? They’d rather bad mouth the country than defend it.
Hi Anna!
I started an “anti-idiot celebrity” list, and ThirdWaveDave forwarded this post to me, so I linked to you.
Thanks for the post… it’s a striking comparison!
Thank you Greybeard! This post has made the rounds over the last couple of years. It was originally an email my dad sent and has been added to and edited since, so feel free to add or edit as you find information! Enjoy!