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Originally Posted by Trip_Wire
Ahhh ... Back to the days when they had my kind of actor and film hero's Lee Marvin, Robert Mitchum & John Wayne!!   |
Talk about a "different time" - here is how actors responded in WWII:
Gene Autry - Flight Officer, Air Transport Command, 1942-1946 - C-47's over "The Hump"
Jackie Coogan - US Army Air Corps. Enlisted in Army March 1941. After Pearl Harbor, requested transfer to Air Corps as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience.
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. - US Navy. He joined the naval reserves before the war. During the war he served on the Battleship Massachuesetts
Clark Gable - Captain, US Army Air Corps. Although beyond draft age, Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the Air Corps on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles. He attended Officers' Candidate School at Miami Beach and graduated as a second lieutenant. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943, on personal orders from Gen. Arnold, went to England to make a motion picture of aerial gunners in action. He was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook and although neither ordered nor expected to do so, flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s to obtain the combat film footage he believed was required for producing the movie entitled "Combat America." - He was one of the highest paid actors in America, making $300,000 the year before he went in.
Jimmy Stewart - US Army Air Corps. Prior to World War II, James Stewart learned to fly and received his private pilot's license in 1935. He enlisted in the Army on March 22, 1941. Though he desired to fly as a combat pilot, he was at first used mostly for publicity. At his own expense, he took additional private flight training so he could qualify for combat. He received his commission after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Early in the war, Jimmy Stewart served as a Bombardier trainer. He was eventually qualified on B-17s and was attached as operations officer with 445th Bomb Group, 703rd squadron. Within a month he was put in command of the squadron. He eventually flew a total of 20 combat missions in WWII. From 1944 to 1945 he served as chief of staff, 2nd Combat Wing, 2nd Division, 8th Air Force.
Tyrone Power - USMC Pilot in the South Pacific.
Served overseas 21 months
Flew 20 combat missions
Medals received for WWII service:
Six battle stars
Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters
Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters
Croix de Guerre with Palm
After WWII, Jimmy Stewart continued in the Air Force Reserve. He eventually rose to the rank of Brigadier General.
Medals received for later military career:
Distinguished Service Medal 1968
Presidential Medal of Freedom 1985
Retired 1968
And there are dozens of actors who were NOT famous before WWII, but served, some with great valor, before becoming actors and tv stars. Different times.
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