Thanks for the post, Reagan Man. wtc911, it seems Ronald Reagan’s tribute says things differently than you did about John Wayne.
“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 effort by making inspirational 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.”
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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.