Posted on 09/01/2006 6:02:48 PM PDT by wagglebee
Indeed. I think he wanted to serve, but the War Dept, wanted him to stay in hollywood making films to keep up the moral of not only the troops, but the nation.
I believe, from reading a bio on another thread, that he was in a combat camera group. Doesn't mean he didn't fight when someone was shooting at him, it just means his mission was to record the missions of others.
I've seen seceral different accounts of Wayne's non-service - sought deferred status to support wife & kids / to not lose what little career he had at that time / had physical deferrment, etc.
I was assigned (MI) to SF during Vietnam and there were several former Marines in our group. [HATED trying to march with a Marine calling cadence.]
And, note to an earlier post: yes, Martha Raye was a legend for her service.
Both good flics
RIP Glenn Ford.
OTOH. Lets set the record straight. There have been several reasons offered for why The Duke didn't serve in WWII. From Wayne wanting to serve, but being unable to enlist; to his being turned down due to an old football injury; and because he simply didn't want to damage his film career. As far as I can tell, no one ever made a big deal about it and for one good reason. John Wayne did more for the war effort by making patriotic movies about WWII like Flying Tigers, Reunion in France, Back to Bataan, They Were Expendable, then he ever could have parading around Europe or the South Pacifc maybe getting himself killed.
In the post WWII period John Wayne`s patriotism was front and center. Wayne was also an ardent anti-communist and his public words and actions did more to advance the USA around the world then anyone else of his time. When the Vietnam War started going badly and public opinion began to hurt troop moral, Wayne was making visits to troops in the field without any public fanfare. Wayne even took a huge gamble by producing and directing a movie about Vietnam called "The Green Berets". The anti-war crowd in Hollywood trashed both the movie and Wayne for glorifying the war effort. John Wayne has nothing to be ashamed of and owes no apologizes to anyone.
Check this out: Unforgettable John Wayne by Ronald Reagan
Btw, I love John Ford movies. Especially with John Wayne starring. Its a well known fact Ford could be a first class liberal butthole, and we all know how Ford liked the butts of both sexes too. Nuff said.
AND well said, if I may say so. As a "pre-WWII" baby, I grew up watching all of John Wayne's movies and although I'm not so naive as to think the man was perfect, I loved and respected him - at least the image he projected, which, I believe was sincere.
I wouldn't give you 2 pins for any of the Hollywood crowd these days but on the day John Wayne died, and Jimmy Stewart, I bawled like a baby.
May just do it again after reading this thread.
Thank you for posting that link. That was a great read.
You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks, Fawnn. I was just talking to a friend here in Los Angeles by phone. A little over a week ago she attended an event in Hollywood, and Glenn Ford was there!
Oh, the event that Glenn Ford attended exactly one week before he died was held at the famous Hollywood Cemetery... it was a celebration in memory of the 60th anniversary of Rudolph Valentino's death. It's a sort of cult tradition to observe that anniversary every year.
Lovely of you to post this. Please see my 91 and 92. Thanks.
Great article on Glenn Ford. He is almost the last of the Greatest generation. Guy's in Hollywood with balls of steel. Those guy's are about gone now.
We are now subjected with Hollywierd creeps living off their parents names and recognition. The great actors of yesterday with real talent would be ashamed at the ass@oles we have to tolerate today.
Thanks for the list, for remembering the old breed. Ronald Reagan served here in Culver City, CA, at the Culver Studios which became a base for awhile during WWII.
Steve McQueen served in the Marine Corps just after WWII (1947-1950).
Rod Serling was a paratrooper. He jumped onto Corregidor...
Today the Hollywood elite are too busy complaining that they have to pay taxes on their $70K "gift baskets" to be able to find time to serve any real purpose.
Lately I've been reading my way through the last year's READER'S DIGESTS. I knew in advance there'd be something stupid in the Uma Thurman interview, but I read it anyway. And sure enough, Uma whined that now that she's a single mom, it's sooooooooo difficult because she works at a job where she has to be there -- can't just take time off. What a warped perspective!
Raymond Burr's first wife was purportedly on the same plane as Leslie Howard when it was shot down by Ju-88s while leaving Portugal.
Burr's wartime service is probably the most little known of all the Hollywood icons; he had to have numerous surgeries related to his wartime injuries (US Navy, Okinawa) during the making of the Perry Mason series, where he was either shown laid up "sick" in bed, or replaced by a guest attorney (like Bette Davis).
I have read that if he had been two inches taller he would have been a leading man. But he was type-cast.
He was in his thirties and had a bunch of kids.
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