YOU WILL PROBABLY REMEMBER THESE NAMES IF YOU ARE OLD ENOUGH
We all know Errol served in his own way. With his tours Etc
THE OLDER PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THESE & THE YOUNGER ONES CAN LEARN ABOUT OUR PAST. THIS BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES. COMPARE WITH HOLLYWOOD TODAY!
Sterling Hayden , US Marines and OSS . Smuggled guns into Yugoslavia and parachuted into Croatia .
James Stewart , US Army Air Corps. Bomber pilot who rose to the rank of General.
Ernest Borgnine , US Navy. Gunners Mate 1c, destroyer USS Lamberton.
Ed McMahon, US Marines. Fighter Pilot. (Flew OE-1 Bird Dogs over Korea as well.)
Telly Savalas , US Army.
Walter Matthau, US Army Air Corps., B-24 Radioman/Gunner and cryptographer.
Steve Forrest , US Army. Wounded, Battle of the Bulge.
Jonathan Winters, USMC. Battleship USS Wisconsin and Carrier USS Bon Homme Richard. Anti-aircraft gunner, Battle of Okinawa
Paul Newman, US Navy Rear seat gunner/radioman, torpedo bombers of USS Bunker Hill
Kirk Douglas, US Navy Sub-chaser in the Pacific. Wounded in action and medically discharged.
Robert Mitchum , US Army.
Dale Robertson , US Army. Tank Commander in North Africa under Patton. Wounded twice Battlefield Commission.
Henry Fonda , US Navy. Destroyer USS Satterlee.
John Carroll , US Army Air Corps. Pilot in North Africa . Broke his back in a crash.
Lee Marvin US Marines. Sniper. Wounded in action on Saipan . Buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Sec. 7A next to Greg Boyington and Joe Louis.
Art Carney , US Army. Wounded on Normandy beach, D-Day. Limped for the rest of his life.
Wayne Morris, US Navy fighter pilot, USS Essex . Downed seven Japanese fighters.
Rod Steiger , US Navy Was aboard one of the ships that launched the Doolittle Raid.
Tony Curtis , US Navy. Sub tender USS Proteus. In Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan
Larry Storch. US Navy. Sub tender USS Proteus with Tony Curtis.
Forrest Tucker, US Army. Enlisted as a private, rose to Lieutenant.
Robert Montgomery , US Navy.
George Kennedy , US Army. Enlisted after Pearl Harbor , stayed in sixteen years.
Mickey Rooney , US Army under Patton. Bronze Star.
Denver Pyle , US Navy. Wounded in the Battle of Guadalcanal . Medically discharged.
Burgess Meredith , US Army Air Corps.
DeForest Kelley , US Army Air Corps.
Robert Stack , US Navy. Gunnery Officer.
Neville Brand , US Army, Europe . Was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart
Tyrone Power, US Marines. Transport pilot in the Pacific Theater.
Charlton Heston , US Army Air Corps. Radio operator and aerial gunner on a B-25, Aleutians
Danny Aiello , US Army. Lied about his age to enlist at 16. Served three years.
James Arness , US Army. As an infantryman, he was severely wounded at Anzio , Italy .
Efram Zimbalist, Jr., US Army. Purple Heart for a severe wound received at Huertgen Forest
Mickey Spillane, US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot and later Instructor Pilot.
Rod Serling. US Army. 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific. He jumped at Tagaytay in the Philippines and was later wounded in Manila .
Gene Autry , US Army Air Corps. Crewman on transports that ferried supplies over “The Hump” in the China-Burma-India Theater.
William Holden , US Army Air Corps.
Alan Hale Jr, US Coast Guard.
Russell Johnson , US Army Air Corps. B-24 crewman who was awarded Purple Heart when his aircraft was shot down by the Japanese in the Philippines
William Conrad , US Army Air Corps. Fighter Pilot.
Jack Klugman , US Army.
Frank Sutton , US Army. Took part in 14 assault landings, including Leyte, Luzon, Bataan and Corregidor .
Jackie Coogan , US Army Air Corps. Volunteered for gliders and flew troops and materials into Burma behind enemy lines.
Tom Bosley , US Navy.
Claude Akins , US Army. Signal Corps. , Burma and the Philippines
Chuck Connors , US Army. Tank-warfare instructor.
Harry Carey Jr., US Navy.
Mel Brooks , US Army. Combat Engineer. Saw action in the Battle of the Bulge
Robert Altman , US Army Air Corps. B-24 Co-Pilot.
Pat Hingle , US Navy. Destroyer USS Marshall
Fred Gwynne , US Navy. Radioman.
Karl Malden , US Army Air Corps. 8th Air Force, NCO.
Earl Holliman , US Navy. Lied about his age to enlist. Discharged after a year when they Navy found out.
Rock Hudson , US Navy. Aircraft mechanic, the Philippines .
Harvey Korman , US Navy.
Aldo Ray. US Navy. UDT frogman, Okinawa .
Don Knotts , US Army, Pacific Theater.
Don Rickles , US Navy aboard USS Cyrene.
Harry Dean Stanton , US Navy Served aboard an LST in the Battle of Okinawa
Soupy Sales, US Navy. Served on USS Randall in the South Pacific.
Lee Van Cleef , US Navy. Served aboard a sub chaser then a mine sweeper.
Clifton James , US Army, South Pacific. Was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.
Ted Knight , US Army, Combat Engineers.
Jack Warden , US Navy, 1938-1942, then US Army, 1942-1945. 101st Airborne Division.
Don Adams. US Marines. Wounded on Guadalcanal , then served as a Drill Instructor.
James Gregory, US Navy and US Marines.
Brian Keith, US Marines. Radioman/Gunner in Dauntless dive-bombers.
Fess Parker, US Navy and US Marines. Booted from pilot training for being too tall, joined Marines as a radio operator.
Charles Durning. US Army. Landed at Normandy on D-Day. Shot multiple times. Awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.SurvivedMalmedy Massacre.
Raymond Burr , US Navy. Shot in the stomach on Okinawa and medically discharged.
Hugh O’Brian, US Marines.
Robert Ryan, US Marines.
Eddie Albert , US Coast Guard. Bronze Star with Combat V for saving several Marines under heavy fire as pilot of a landing craft during the invasion of Tarawa
Cark Gable , US Army Air Corps. B-17 gunner over Europe .
Charles Bronson , US Army Air Corps. B-29 gunner, wounded in action.
Peter Graves , US Army Air Corps.
Buddy Hackett , US Army anti-aircraft gunner.
Victor Mature, US Coast Guard.
Jack Palance, US Army Air Corps. Severely injured bailing out of a burning B-24 bomber.
Robert Preston , US Army Air Corps. Intelligence Officer
Cesar Romero , US Coast Guard. Participated in the invasions of Tinian and Saipan on the assault transport USS Cavalier.
Norman Fell , US Army Air Corps., Tail Gunner, Pacific Theater.
Jason Robards , US Navy. Was aboard heavy cruiser USS Northampton when it was sunk off Guadalcanal . Also served on the USS Nashville during the invasion of the Philippines , surviving a kamikaze hit that caused 223 casualties
Steve Reeves, US Army , Philippines .
Dennis Weaver, US Navy. Pilot.
Robert Taylor , US Navy. Instructor Pilot.
Randolph Scott. Tried to enlist in the Marines but was rejected due to injuries sustained in US Army, World War 1.
Ronald Reagan. US Army. Was a 2nd Lt. in the Cavalry Reserves before the war. His poor eyesight kept him from being sent overseas with his unit when war came so he transferred to the Army Air Corps Public Relations Unit where he served for the duration.
John Wayne Declared “4F medically unfit” due to pre-existing injuries, he nonetheless attempted to volunteer three times (Army, Navy and Film Corps.
so he gets honorable mention.
And of course we have Audie Murphy , America ‘s most-decorated soldier, who became a Hollywood star as a result of his US Army service that included his being awarded the Medal of Honor.
Would someone please remind me again how many of today’s Hollywood elite put their careers on hold to enlist in Iraq or Afghanistan ? The only one
who even comes close was Pat Tillman, who turned down a contract offer of $36 million over three years from the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the US Army after September 11, 2001, and serve as a Ranger in Afghanistan , where he died in 2004. But rather than being lauded for his choice and his decision to put his country before his career, he was mocked and derided by many of his peers.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I submit to you that this is not the America today that it was seventy years ago. And I, for one, am saddened. My generation grew up watching, being entertained by and laughing with so many of these fine people, never really knowing what they contributed to the war effort.
Like millions of Americans during the WWII, there was a job that needed doing they didn’t question, they went and did it, those that came home returned to their now new normal life and carried on, very few ever saying what they did or saw.
They took it as their “responsibility”, their “duty” to Country, to protect and preserve our freedoms and way of life, not just for themselves but for all future generations to come. As a member of a later generation, I’m forever humbly in their debt!
Please pass this on to remind people of what real men were like, not the show dogs of today’s screen.
— tassie devil
Ralph Schiller
June 13, 2020 at 1:15 pm
Thank-you Tassie Devil; I wish to add that Don Adams was also 16 and lied about his age to get into the U.S. Marine Corps. Also Victor Mature was in the North Atlantic in the Coast Guard doing convoy escort duty. This was very dangerous thanks to the German U-Boats and Luftwaffe and we lost many Coast Guardsmen. Frank Sinatra dodged the draft and military service during the war and for a while was the most hated man in America. I respectfully differ on John Wayne who at age 34 had legal deferment when the war broke out. However there was no medical reason why he could not have enlisted in any of the armed services. With most of Hollywood’s top leading men in uniform for the duration with very few exceptions, Wayne knew he would get the top starring roles and sat out the war. Director John Ford, a Navy veteran of WW1, went back on active duty in WW2 and even was awarded the Purple Heart. Although he continued to work with John Wayne, John Ford never let him forget he failed to serve. David Niven was originally a career British Army officer before becoming an actor. In 1939, now a top film star, Niven returned to the British army and was in a landing craft in the D-Day invasion. Ralph Schiller
Karl
June 13, 2020 at 3:54 pm
Thank you for this post!
Everyone has a different story behind their serving or not and it “took” a bit of time for the FULL one on Flynn to come out.
(DO REMEMBER the power of Hollywood in hanging on to what they’ve got- and even “ASSETS” who got off scott free with murder!).
Since Wayne is singled out (and in NO WAY did I agree with his politics)- he too has a “story” (which as well includes liking the music of Gilbert and Sullivan and sailing his “yacht”- a WW2 Mine Sweeper) and I don’t know where the truth lies; here is a recent take:
And since you mention Niven, he has something of an unusual beginning (before he went AWOL, by his own admission) and a RE-beginning:
www.ww2f.com…
And finally, bringing it all back home:
PS Please note from the montage:
FDR’s son (a junior naval officer in World War II and was decorated for bravery in the battle of Casablanca)… HE WORE GLASSES!
That, of course, allowed others to not serve (on active duty)… there’s always more to a story, however, you know- be you a presidents son or…
Again, GLAD Flynn’s FULL story finally came out.
Gentleman Tim
June 13, 2020 at 7:05 pm
Thank you for all that, Karl, including that wonderful video. Here’s another, this one focusing on the ward bond drive heroes. Hedy and Greer look especially gorgeous, I mean heroic, to me.
Ralph Schiller
June 13, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Sorry Karl; but the judgement of John Wayne’s avoiding military service during WW2 is not harsh. For all the gallant war films he made, and I enjoy watching all of them on DVD, Wayne was a fledgling star thanks to Stagecoach (1939) and with his competition off the playing field, he won the war on movie soundstages as a civilian. Another fledgling star was George Reeves who just made it into starring in major films. He served in the Army Air Corps but when he returned home, his career cooled and it was back to ‘B’ films. James Mason, a brilliant distinguished actor if there ever was one, was never knighted by the Queen for refusing to serve Britain.
I also want to commend two other fine actors who served, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Broderick Crawford, who saw his friend Glenn Miller, a bandleader serving in the Army Air Corps, fly off into oblivion, Ralph Schiller
Gentleman Tim
June 13, 2020 at 8:01 pm
Thank you so much especially for the salute to Glenn Miller, not only a great bandleader, but a great person and American, who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
Listen to this for some of Miller’s magnificent music!
Ralph Schiller
June 13, 2020 at 9:52 pm
Tim and Karl; You must read the real story behind the disappearance of Glenn Miller’s aircraft. it is all documented in the book “The Glenn Miller Conspiracy” by Hunton Downs. The author tracked down three people with inside knowledge of Miller’s star-crossed mission. He interviewed David Niven, Broderick Crawford, and the infamous Otto Skorenzy. Glenn Miller was a bigger hero than we could have ever suspected and paid for kit with his life. Ralph Schiller
Gentleman Tim
June 13, 2020 at 10:48 pm
So fascinating, Ralph. There should be a biopic on Skorenzy, aka “Hitler’s Errol Flynn”. More importantly, Miller should get the Presidential Medal of Freedom, AND the Medal of Honor!!
www.google.com…
Selene Hutchison-Zuffi
June 14, 2020 at 3:22 am
Lost…hitlers Errol Flynn? Skorenzy???
Gentleman Tim
June 14, 2020 at 8:08 am
“One of the dashing poster boys of the old Third Reich, well at least in Hitler’s glazed eyes was
“OTTO SKORZENY: HITLER’S ERROL FLYNN COMMANDO”
“Oberstumbannfuhrer (Lt. Colonel), Otto Skorzeny.”
“Standing at six-feet-four-inches and over two hundred pounds in weight, and with a noticeable duelling scar scared across his cheek, he was the dashing darling of the German Reich, during the mid-1940s. In fact, if he had been portrayed on the silver screen no finer an actor than Errol Flynn could have done justice to his life and legend.”
Selene Hutchison-Zuffi
June 14, 2020 at 1:45 pm
Oh ok. Really no connection to Errol.
Tom Webb
June 16, 2020 at 4:50 am
A great list of actors, Tassie Devil. There are some others, too- who paid the supreme price. Actor Phillips Holmes, a pretty big star in early sound films, died while in the Royal Canadian Air Force, when his plane collided with another plane in 1942. Ironically, he starred in a rare serious Ernst Lubitsch film in 1932 called “Broken Lullaby” (“The Man I Killed”) about a French soldier filled with remorse over a German soldier he’d killed in WWI.
There was a new actor named Erford Gage, who acted in some Val Lewton horror films in the early 1940s, who died while fighting at Iwo Jima. Then there was Glenn Miller, who everyone knows about. And two famous civilian stars, Carole Lombard and Leslie Howard, who both died while doing war-related service. WWII sure took its toll on Hollywood, too. .