‘John Wayne is the United States of America’

bighollywood.breitbart.com ^ | June 11, 2009 | John Nolte

[chimera]

Here is a good one from The Alamo that seems appropriate for the place and times (and a reminder of what is now in danger):

"Republic. I like the sound of the word. It means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose. Some words give you a feeling. Republic is one of those words that makes me tight in the throat - the same tightness a man gets when his baby takes his first step or his first baby shaves and makes his first sound as a man. Some words can give you a feeling that makes your heart warm. Republic is one of those words."

[Free ThinkerNY]

Thanks for the wise words from the great Ronald Reagan.

[11Bush]

Thanks for the post. I have read several biographies on John Wayne through the years, and that short simple 'eulogy' was the best.

Of course, Ronnie could always put it short, sweet, to the point, and right.

[AFreeBird]

There were a lot of better established, older Hollywood actors who threw their careers to the wind (read about Robert Montegomery some time) and laid their lives on the line for the flag that you want to wrap around Wayne. He stayed home.

And if the War Department felt he could better serve by staying home playing the hero in the movies? Do you seriously think the Duke was a coward?

[wtc911]

And if the War Department felt he could better serve by staying home playing the hero in the movies? Do you seriously think the Duke was a coward?

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Wayne was not a star when the war began, he was still getting second and third billing except for Satuday matinee type westerns at a third rate studio. Gable, Montegomery, Power, Fonda, Stewart and others were much bigger than Wayne at that time. They all served in combat theaters. Dasvid Niven was bigger and for a top studio he left Hollywood and served in England as a Commando. Leslie Howard was bigger, and a WW1 combat vet. He was killed in service in WW2.

During the war years Wayne made 13 films, only three were war films.

I don't remember writing that Wayne was a coward. I do remember writing that he was certainly no hero although he was pretty good at playing one for the camera.

The facts are the facts, Wayne was an actor, that's it.

[wtc911]

Perhaps wtc911 has no respect for any able bodied man who stays out of uniform while his country is fighting for its life. My uncle was blind in one eye but served in the USMC in a training capacity. I don’t think that Wayne had less pull than my uncle, or that he tried as hard to get in.

[Old Professer]

What does that make you?

You probably ought to back off since it seems that Wayne was denied entry into the military and that would make your whole diatribe moot.

Otherwise I will have to conclude that you are just being obstreperous for argument’s sake.

[Citizen Soldier]

There is an old Mexican restaurant in Tucson, AZ and we were told when the Duke was in town he would let the kids who asked sit with him but not the fawning parents, being the hero he was in the movies.

[wtc911]

So he poured himself into the war effort by making inspirational war films - among them The Fighting Seabees, Back to Bataan and They Were Expendable

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Give me a break. Wayne made thirteen movies during the war....only four were war movies. Not exactly pouring himself into the war effort.

A shoulder injury kept him out? My father's brother was blind in one eye and fought to get into the Marines. The took him as an instructor. He stayed stateside but he spent three years actually 'pouring himself into the war effort' instead of finishing college. I believe that Wayne might have had a bit more influence than a 19 year old Irish kid from Queens. Too bad he didn't use it.

[Clemenza]

Everything I learned about John Wayne I learned from Repo Man.

[PLMerite]

John Wayne tested for Annapolis back in the 1920s. In whatever subdivision he was in, they took the top three and he was fourth.

When WWII broke out, he tried to enlist. He was 34 years old, married with several children and a bum shoulder from playing football in college. He was 4F.

But thanks for checking the facts before sliming him.

[Old Professer]

It’s not what you think that counts; if he was unacceptable he would not have been let in.

Why does this weigh on you so?

[wtc911]

You probably ought to back off since it seems that Wayne was denied entry into the military and that would make your whole diatribe moot. Otherwise I will have to conclude that you are just being obstreperous for argument’s sake.

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"SEEMS"? In other words you want to think so without proof. And, as I said, my own uncle wanted in bad enough to make it happen even though he had only one good eye.

btw...you may conclude what you like. I have been very clear. Wayne was an icon as an actor. When the call went out he fell short.

[oyez]

I didn't have time to add the caption on the first post.

I think he was saying was saying in this scene was, "Cut those boys down!"

Have a nice trip. I would love to visit Normandy.

[JoJo Gunn]

I read that myself, except for the part about she’ll eventually tell. (It would ruin the legend anyhow, it seems).

[klamath]

Well, I said that Ronald Reagan said it differently than you and you get offended. I personally have no idea what happened and will reserve judgement.

And, oh by the way, my uncle died in the war effort and several others served faithfully too. My father was at several points in the pacific and was in Nagasaki a few days after the bomb.

[Rummyfan]

One more to add: Tyrone Power, captain and pilot in the USMC.

[Old Professer]

Proof enough.

[Swinny]

I realize this post is over 4 years old but just to straighten out the record for any future viewers. I found this in a biography of Duke written by Ronald Reagan. I trust that he wouldn’t have lied about it since he knew him personally.

When war broke out, John Wayne tried to enlist but was rejected because of an old football injury to his shoulder, his age (34), and his status as a married father of four. He flew to Washington to plead that he be allowed
to join the Navy but was turned down. So he poured himself into the war ffort by making insepirational war films - among them The Fighting Seabees, Back to Bataan and They Were Expendable. To those back home and others around the world he became a symbol of the determined American
fighting man.

Duke could not be kept from the front lines. In 1944 he spent three months touring forward positions in the Pacific theater. Appropriately, it was a wartime film, Sands of Iwo Jima which turned him into a superstar. Years after the war, when Emperor Hirohito of Japan visited the United States,he sought out John Wayne, paying tribute to the one who represented our nation’s success in combat.