Lee Marvin - True Hollywood Hero - True War Story from Iwo Jima

www.hollywood-hero.us ^ | 03-26-03 | www.hollywood-hero.us

[jackbill]

Not in WW II. No "Air Force" until after the war. Technically, it was the "Army Air Force," but that was too long to put in.

I don't believe that you understand the distinction. The "Mighty Eighth" was always, even in WWII, referred to as the Eighth Air Force. During WWII it was officially the Eighth Air Force of the Army Air Corps.

[jackbill]

Let me make a correction to my #61. The unit was originally the 8th Air Force of the U. S. Army Air Corps, then the 8th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Force, then the 8th Air Force of the U. S. Air Force.

It was never the 8th Army. The Eighth Army was activated in June 1944 at Memphis, Tennessee. During WWII, the "Amphibious Eighth" made fifty-two beach assaults on islands across the pacific, each one a D-day in miniature.

It remained in the Pacific during the Korean War. I know because I served in it in 1952 in Korea.

[LS]

Thank you. I will edit my mss.

[The Right Stuff]

I've been to Pelielu, the war vehicles are still there, along with the caves and the remnants of the Japanese command bunker.

Bloody Nose Ridge has to be seen to be believed. It's amazing that any troops could get up it, much less under withering fire.

God Bless your late father-in-law

[sheik yerbouty]

I think it was the Eighth Army Air Corps.

[jackbill]

From the Army Air Forces Historical Association:

1907 - Aeronautical Section of the Signal Corps.
1914 - Aviation Section (Signal Corps).
1918 - United States Army Air Service
1926 - United States Army Air Corps
1941 - United States Army Air Force
1947 - United States Air Force

[irish guard]

The amazing part of his recollection of Pelielu was that he spoke about it as though he was flying a milk run....no big deal. I have seen WWII live footage about what they did and can make out his plane in the film....it was nuts..they would literally take off, drop the bomb at the end of the runway, land, load up another bomb and take off again. He was so calm about it and you know he had to be wetting his pants.

Funniest story he would tell was about flying for hours and hours looking for Zeros.....every so often he would look over and one of his buddies was flying upside down. Corsairs did not have floors in them, your feet just dangled and while flying these guys would light up a smoke....well invariably some guy dropped his lighter and needed to retrieve it. The only way to get it back was to turn the plane upside down and pick it off the canopy....

[sheik yerbouty]

My father was a tail gunner, and he was in the habit of calling it the "8th Army Air Corps". My guess the term was used out of habit.

[jackbill]

My father was a tail gunner, and he was in the habit of calling it the "8th Army Air Corps".

What bomb group was he in?

[sheik yerbouty]

I'll have to ask him when I speak to him. Just before D Day he was assigned to the invasion force.

[Cloud William]

In case you're interested, I ran across a lengthy compendium of actors who served in WWII in a thread over on the message boards at www.wildbillguarnere.com. That's a nice website, BTW - dedicated to one of the soldiers of Easy Company, 509th PIR, 101st Airborne Division (See: Band of Brothers). A few of the other veterans and the actors who portrayed them in the miniseries have posted messages there.

Anyway, here's an excerpt from the list:

***************

They Also Served:

Actors with WWII Military Records
This is a page started on the Combat! web site on January 8, 2002. As I build this, I hope this to be a reference of actors and other entertainers who served in uniform in WWII, with details about their war records. It started with just two detailed biographies. Others to follow. If you have verified information about an actor's war record, please contact me and I'd love to include it on the site. Full credit and bylines for all authored works.

Don Adams - USMC, Contracted malaria on Guadalcanal
[Source: Internet Movie Database]
John Agar - US Army Air Corps, Sergeant. (He appeared in the Combat! episode "The Mockingbird.")
Gene Autry - Flight Officer, Air Transport Command, 1942-
1946 [Source: Internet Movie Database]
Eddie Albert - US Navy. Drove Amtracks in several Pacific
invasions. He served in the landings at Saipan in 1943,
were he rescued wounded and stranded Marines from the beachhead.
At Tarawa, he was wounded and lost most of his hearing and earned the Bronze Star.
(He appeared in the Combat! episode "Doughboy")
James Arness - US Army, Wounded at Anzio. Purple Heart and
Bronze Star [Source: Internet Movie Database]
James Best - US Army Air Corps.
(He appeared in the Combat! episode "Mail Call.")
Neville Brand - US Army.
(He appeared in the Combat! episode "Fly Away Home.")
Ernest Borgnine - served in the U.S. Navy for twelve years joining before WWII.
Charles Bronson - US Army. Charles Bronson's publicity
information used to state that he flew as a bomber gunner
in WWII. Actually, he drove a delivery truck in
Kingman, Arizona, for the 760th Mess Squadron.
(He appeared in the Combat! episode "Heritage.")
Art Carney - US Army. Carney went to Normandy in July of
1944 as a replacement to the 28th Division in
position around St Lô. He was part of a 30 calibre machine
gun squad. On 15 August 1944 he had just taken
up his position and was hit in the right leg by
mortar shrapnel. After receiving field treatment, he
was sent back to Britain and then the US. He once
said of his military career, "Never fired a shot
and maybe never wanted to. I really cost the
government money." [source Osprey Military Journal]
Julia Child served with the OSS (Office of Strategic
Services) in Ceylon and China during WWII. [Source: They
Also Served by Scott Baron]
Robert Clary - In a Nazi concentration camp [Source:
Internet Movie Database]

**************

[Tribune7]

Wasn't Sterling Hayden involved in some kind of spy operation?

[LS]

Thanks! Very helpful.

[Cvengr]

Funny, I could have sworn I saw Lee marvin in an interview once, wherein he corrected his host that he still received a disability check monthly for , I believe, a slight lack of mobility in one of his fingers, pinky finger on one hand.

1st time I heard the proper pronunciation of 'Tarawa'. I always though he had come ashore wading under fire at Tarawa and was one of the very fortunate few who made it ashore alive. 3rd wave I believe.

Just my recollection from memory of the interview.

The later post indicating he had assaulted 20 beaches, I suspect is a gross exageration. Most units and Marines only made it through one to three beaches. Casualty rates and logisics made it nearly impossible for the same unit or person to assault multiple islands from what I read in Isley and Crowl or US Army Historical Annals.

In your recollection, have you bumped into any WWII Pacific vets who were in the assault waves of more than one or two island amphib landings?

[Cincinatus]

"We missed ya, Johnny! All the beetles missed ya!!"

[strela]

Sorry, we fell for an old rumor, but looking for heroes these days is tough.

Not at all. Turn on the freaking Fox News any time of the day to see all you want.