Bob Barker
When it came time for Bob Barker to serve in the Air Force, he was still a far way from hosting “The Price is Right”. He paid his dues as a pilot during the Second World War.
Bob Barker
Henry Fonda
Unlike most Hollywood stars, Henry Fonda was already famous by the time he drafted for military service. Can you imagine what it must have taken for him to serve 3 years in the Navy as a quartermaster 3rd class on the destroyer USS Satterlee when he was supposed to be acting?
Henry Fonda
Sherman Hemsley
Well well, who do we have here? Is it “George Jefferson”? Maybe we should actually be addressing him with the rank he received while serving in the U.S. Air Force. Hemsley served for four years in Japan and Korea before we even got to know him.
Sherman Hemsley
John Coltrane
Starting his military career came with a boom, literally. John Coltrane, who would become one of the most significant saxophonists in history, drafted into the Army on the same day American pilots dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
John Coltrane
Fred Feast
When it comes to being a jack of all trades, there’s no other person to look at than Fred Feast. Not only was he a successful TV actor, and a sergeant in the British parachute regiment, he was much more. Shall we list a few? He was a dolphin trainer (you read that right), a butcher, a driving instructor and even a nightclub owner!
Fred Feast
Tom Selleck
Did you know that Magnum PI AKA Tom Selleck was the poster boy for the recruitment of youngsters to the U.S. Army during the 1960’s? This Hollywood superstar made it to the rank of sergeant during the 1960’s and 70’s in the U.S. Army infantry, National Guard.
Tom Selleck
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, what did he do during his military service? Navy SEALS? Paratroopers? Marine Corps? It seems like all of these would have been suitable for Eastwood, but he was in fact… a lifeguard! He does have a story that goes down in the history books, though. He and a pilot, after crash-landing into the sea, swam over 2 miles to get to safety.
Clint Eastwood
Johnny Carson
It takes a certain personality to be able to get people to speak about sensitive topics. Johnny Carson successfully did it for many years on the The Tonight Show, but perhaps he got these skills from his military career. During World War II, Carson sat on board the USS Pennsylvania and decoded encrypted enemy messages.
Johnny Carson
J.R.R. Tolkien
Where did the writing genius, J.R.R. Tolkien, get the ideas and inspiration to create such memorable works like The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? Some people suggest that it came from the experiences he went through during the First World War.
J.R.R. Tolkien
Charles Bronson
Come on now. you can’t think of many Hollywood actors who are as classy and cool as Charles Bronson. His demeanor could be attributed to the period where he served in the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron during WWII. Many people don’t know that he received the “Purple Heart” medal after being wounded during one of his 25 successful flight missions.
Charles Bronson
Paul Newman
Paul Newman almost didn’t make it to the silver screen, a pilot with an ear infection unknowingly saved his life. During the Battle of Okinawa, Newman was supposed to be on-board the USS Bunker Hill but he couldn’t since his pilot was suffering with an ear infection. Instead, the turret gunner was on dry land when Japanese kamikaze pilots attacked the massive American ship.
Paul Newman
Drew Carey
Before we move on, can you believe that Drew Carey is almost 60 years old?! Well the host of his own show and of course, of “Whose Line Is It Anyway” proudly served his country back in the day. During the 1970’s and 1980’s he served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Who would have thought?
Drew Carey
Sidney Poitier
So many people want to get out having to serve in the Army, but then there was Sidney Poitier. Man, this 16-year-old kid just wanted to get in! He lied about his age and managed to get himself into the fight during the Second World War. Later on he would regret his decision and fake insanity to get out of staying in the military.
Sidney Poitier
Tony Curtis
In 2010, Tony Curtis was buried with full military honors and decorations. During World War II he served as a submarine tender and made his way up to the rank of Signalman 3rd class. One of the most significant moments in the Navy was when he witnessed the Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay.
Tony Curtis
J.D. Salinger
He didn’t just write the post-World War II wonder book, “Catcher In The Rye”, he served in the war itself too. Seeing as his mind was as sharp as ever, he served in the counter-intelligence division of the military and even acquired the rank of staff-sergeant.
J.D. Salinger
Harrison Ford
What surprises most people, is that Harrison Ford did NOT actually serve in the military. This doesn’t mean that Indiana Jones doesn’t serve his country. Seeing as he is a fully-trained helicopter pilot, he volunteers his services when hikers go missing. Who said Han Solo wasn’t a real-life hero?
Harrison Ford
Don Knotts
Don Knotts may have been Mr. Furley from Three’s Company and Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show, but he was a lot more during World War Two. He may not have taken up a combat position, but he used his special set of skills to change the minds and feelings of the soldiers around him. He established a comedy group called “Stars and Stripes” which provided comic relief for soldiers during the war.
Don Knotts
Jimi Hendrix
You read that name right, Jimi Hendrix! So, before he made a huge name for himself with his hands wrapped around a guitar, he was making impressions elsewhere. He was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. He met his fate when on his 26th jump he broke his ankle and was unable to continue as a paratrooper.
Jimi Hendrix
Gene Roddenberry
He must have had something in his heart for the air from a young age. In 1942, after Gene Roddenberry had graduated from Angeles City College, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force’s 394th Bomb Squadron. Later in life he would take to the skies again, but far far beyond when he wrote Star Trek.
Gene Roddenberry
Jesse Ventura
Some people like to hate on wrestling like “WWE” and “WWF”, claiming that it’s fake. Well, I guess it is. But when it comes to the famous wrestler, Jesse Ventura he’s as real as they come. Ventura drafted into the U.S. Navy and went on to complete the most difficult training to become a respected U.S. Navy SEAL. During the Vietnam War, he served in the Philippines… or at least that’s what he says.
Jesse Ventura
Roy Scheider
Let’s just say that Roy Scheider was always good at being a cop, even when it meant there was a shark in the depths of the sea. Before “Jaws”, Scheider was actually an officer in the Air Force and didn’t stop serving after his service finished – he continued as a reservist.
Roy Scheider
Pat Sajak
You might not believe that there ever was (or possibly still is) a job in the Army that was called “Army DJ”. Pat Sajak was officially an army DJ for 18 months during the Vietnam War.
Pat Sajak
Johnny Cash
Where does a musician get his inspiration? Where does he get his lyrics that get us all singing along no matter the tune? The answer might (just might) be that musicians get it from intercepting and cracking Morse code transmissions provided by Soviet communicators. Or at least that’s where Johnny Cash got his since that’s what he did in the Army in the 50’s.
Johnny Cash
John Dillinger
Not everyone planned to become a bad guy, and that might be true for the notorious bank robber, John Dillinger. Before his face ever appeared on street poles and bulletin boards, he was a servicemen of the fire brigade unit in the U.S. Navy.
John Dillinger
Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton, also known as “The Great Stone Face” impressed the world with his brilliant silent comedic films. What’s interesting and somewhat heart-breaking, is that Keaton lost a great deal of his hearing during the First World War. Could it have been that the time he spent fighting against the Germans in France caused him to create the greats of silent films?
Buster Keaton
James Avery
We’re talking about Philip Banks from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and we’re talking about Shredder from “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. We’re also talking about his military service that he doesn’t talk about, seeing as he served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969.
James Avery
Montel Williams
Montel Williams is proud of his service in the Marine Corps, and he’ll tell you that himself. He spent more than 10 years and he has decorations to speak for that service. By the end of the 10-year service he had worked his way up to the rank of Midshipman.
Montel Williams
Glenn Miller
It’s no secret that the military doesn’t want you when you’re too young, and definitely not if you’re too old. Glenn Miller wasn’t prepared to take ‘no’ for an answer and at the ripe-young age of 38, he found a way around being turned away. He ingeniously drafted as an Army band leader but mysteriously disappeared on a plane that simply vanished while flying between England and France.
Glenn Miller
Jack Kerouac
When you have the skill to write, well you have it! Jack Kerouac possibly had his first writing success when he wrote himself down on the “sick list” after 8 days as a U.S. Navy cadet. He managed to get himself out of service, and later put his writing talent to better use.
Jack Kerouac
Sammy Davis Jr.
Sammy Davis Jr. served as an exception in many respects. For one he made it into the U.S. Army Special Forces during a time when people of color were not wanted there. He was constantly the victim of racism, but he didn’t let it get to him, saying, “My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man’s thinking.”
Sammy Davis Jr.
Steve McQueen
We remember him as part of the gang who successfully escaped from a German POW camp in “The Great Escape”. What most people don’t know, is that he actually rescued five other marines from drowning in freezing cold waters during a training exercise.
Steve McQueen
Ernest Hemingway
The brilliant writer Ernest Hemingway worked as an ambulance driver in Italy during the First World War. Like many other writers, the incidents he experienced during that time greatly influenced his projects later on. One such event was when an explosion destroyed a munitions factory which he responded to, finding the maimed bodies of the factory’s workers. He retold the events of that day in his book, “Death in the Afternoon”.
Ernest Hemingway
Humphrey Bogart
Try to imagine what it must have been like during the First World War as a teenager. Humphrey Bogart wanted to serve his country, and he wanted to see some action. By the time he made it to military service, the war had already ended in 1919. That didn’t stop him from seeing some action… the food and the women, according to him. Later Hollywood came knocking on his door.
Humphrey Bogart
Leonard Nimoy
Some people are just made for the stage, and “Spock” is one of them. Sure, he wasn’t just the “Star Trek” actor, he was also a performer in the military during the 1950’s when he was a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Leonard Nimoy
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby spent time helping injured soldiers during the 1950’s when America was at war with Korea. After 4 years of giving his best, he was honorably discharged and then went on to pursue his dreams in Hollywood showbiz.
Bill Cosby
Blake Clark
Where do you remember him from? Take your pick – “Boy Meets World”, “Home Improvement” or “Toy Story”? If we take a few steps back, before Hollywood, we’ll see that Blake Clark was actually a platoon leader in the 5th infantry division in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Blake Clark
Jamie Farr
He wasn’t just a corporal in M.A.S.H., although his dog tags were real. During the Korean War, Jamie Farr found himself in Japan and told that his service there greatly impacted his life thereafter. He decided to take his dog tags and wear them during the time he was on the set of M.A.S.H.
Jamie Farr
Chuck Norris
Did you know that a gun sleeps with Chuck Norris under his pillow? Yeah, there are some things that ONLY Chuck Norris can do and that’s what makes him the only Walker Texas Ranger around. When he drafted into the U.S. Air Force in 1958, he became an Air Policeman. What? Yes, only Chuck Norris can become an Air Policeman.
Chuck Norris
Clark Gable
Clark Gable’s story is bittersweet, and we can’t help but feel a little teary. After his wife, the most beautiful woman in Hollywood died in a plane crash. he was determined to honor her. Since she died while trying to raise funds for the war effort, Gable drafted into the U.S. Air Force even though everyone advised him against it.
Clark Gable
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman could be god… or rather, he was for an hour and a half in “Bruce Almighty”. During the 50’s, Freeman wanted to become a pilot for the U.S. Air Force but he was drafted as a radar technician instead. As god, he made his dream come true years later when he became a certified pilot and the proud owner of four planes.
Morgan Freeman
