Wayne applied to the U.S. Naval Academy, but was not accepted.
The poem was a skit on Laugh-In, as a take-off on Henry Gibson:
(from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gibson
"Gibson's 'break-out' performance came with the three years he spent as part of the Laugh-In cast. A key character he played was "The Poet," often reciting poems with "sharp satirical or political themes".
[2] He would emerge from behind a stage flat, wearing a then-trendy Nehru jacket and a string of 'hippie' beads and holding an outlandishly large artificial flower, and say, "[Title of poem] -- by Henry Gibson." He would bow stiffly from the waist, recite his poem, and return behind the flat.
Gibson's simple-looking poem routine was a memorable enough part of Laugh-In that John Wayne actually performed it on the show once, flower in hand—although in his own inimitable style: "The Sky -- by John Wayne. The Sky is blue/The Grass is green/Get off your butt/And join the Marines!" At which point, Wayne left the scene by smashing through the flat."
Wayne applied to the U.S. Naval Academy, but was not accepted.
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So what (if true)? The USNA is a four year gig. The war was over in three and a half years. Why didn't he follow the example of everyone from Tyrone Power to Desi Arnaz (who wasn't even a citizen) and just join?
He didn't even though older men with more children did. He stayed in Hollywood and got paid. No honor in that.
Admire his work but remember that his work was pretending to be something he wasn't.