Free Republic

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 8, 1943, as an apprentice seaman enrolled in the V-5 program, which trained Navy and Marine pilots. He hoped to train as a pilot, but was sent instead to Columbia University for midshipman training. He performed magic for classmates on the side. Commissioned an ensign late in the war, Carson was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania, a battleship on station in the Pacific. He was en route to the combat zone aboard a troopship when the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the war to a close. The Pennsylvania was torpedoed on...

"Honesty is the single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product." Ed McMahon was born in Detroit, Michigan, but he was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. As he grew up, his booming, resonant voice became the centerpiece of his career as an entertainer and would serve him as a Marine. When he graduated high school, his dream was to become a pilot for the Marine Corps. In the early 1940's, would-be pilots were required to have at least two years of college under their belts, so McMahon enrolled with Boston College....