[Retain Mike]

The below article I just read reminds me that John Wayne tried every way he could think of to enlist in WW II but was turned down. He appealed personally to his friend John Ford who was commissioned as a Navy commander and headed the photographic unit in the OSS. John told him his duty was to stay home and make movies to support the war effort.

That action did not go down well in many quarters. William Manchester writes in Goodbye Darkness that John Wayne was booed when he visited Marines wounded during the battle for Okinawa. After the war, some people asked him to play Sargant Striker in Sands of Iwo Jima, because they believed the movie could help thwart efforts of Harry Truman and Omar Bradley to abolish the Marine Corps. He agreed to do so.

[Slicksadick]

My favorite Wayne movie.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-searchers-1956

[Sans-Culotte]

The below article I just read reminds me that John Wayne tried every way he could think of to enlist in WW II but was turned down. He appealed personally to his friend John Ford who was commissioned as a Navy commander and headed the photographic unit in the OSS. John told him his duty was to stay home and make movies to support the war effort.

I have always read the exact opposite. Wayne kept telling Ford he'd enlist but never did. Ford reportedly resented that Wayne did not enlist as he (Ford) did. I have read two biographies of Wayne and one of Ford and they all agree on that.

BTW, Ford was an asshole. Great director, but an asshole nonetheless. During the filming of They Were Expendable Ford really rode Wayne hard finding fault with everything he did. Presumably this was due to the resentment Ford still felt over Wayne not enlisting.

[CaptainPhilFan]

We cut the cord 4 or 5 years ago and the only thing I miss is TCM.

Here’s a link to watch this Wayne debut on Youtube, the whole thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8vJ4R8mkVY