They are a lost breed. Gone forever. Alec Guinness, James Doohan, David Niven, James Stewart, Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Earnest Borgnine, Charles Durning, Charles Bronson, George C. Scott, Eddie Albert, Brian Keith, Lee Marvin, John Russell, Robert Ryan, Tyrone Power, Audie Murphy and others.
The two main ones I think you forgot are Ronald Reagan and John Wayne (though he never served).
HOW could you forget to name John Wayne???
I couldn't agree more. Also, the actresses of that time supported their country in any way they could with the Hollywood Canteen, war bonds, going over to see "The boys" with the USO and any other way they could. And then there was Carole Lombard...she may not have been in uniform, but she died serving her country. They don't make 'em like they used to!
Ernest Borgnine is still alive too. He will be 90 in January of next year.
Charleton Heston is still alive too although not in very good shape from what I hear.
Robert Montgomery (father of Bewitched's late star, Elizabeth) was a Commander in the Navy as well.
But none of these Hollywood "stars" of today (and I use the word "star" VERY loosely) can hold a candle to any of these greats. We will never see their like again.
And Neville Brand.
You forgot Brigadier General Jimmie Stewart USAAF WWII and reserve duty afterwards
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).
At the outbreak of the Second World War, aged 19, Doohan joined the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant in the 13th Field Regiment, part of the divisional artillery of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Doohan went to the United Kingdom in 1940 for what became years of training. His first combat assignment was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers along the way, Doohan led his unit to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines and took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 11:30 that night, Doohan took six hits from a Bren Gun fired by a nervous sentry[1]: four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case, and the shot finger was amputated (during his later screen acting career he would generally conceal this). Despite his wounds, Doohan remained in the military, trained as a pilot and flew an artillery observation plane, though he was once labeled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Forces". He was not actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, however, as he flew for one of three Air Observation Post Squadrons and remained an Army officer of the Royal Canadian Artillery.