Real Hollywood Heroes
How times
do change!
You probably
have to have a few
years under your belt to really appreciate this
message.
WHAT HAPPENED
TO THE WW II MOVIESTARS?
Most of these
brave men have since passed on. Hope you find this
as informative as I did.
"Real
Hollywood Heroes"
Alec Guinness (Star Wars) operated a British Royal
Navy landing craft on D-Day.
James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) Landed in
Normandy with the U.S. Army on D-Day.
Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an
R.A.F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and
tortured by the Germans.
David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel
of the British Commandos in Normandy .
James Stewart entered the Army Air Force as a
private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel.
During WorldWar II, Stewart served as a bomber
pilot, his service record crediting him with leading
more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part
in hundredsof air strikes during his tour of duty.
Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished
Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre,and 7 Battle
Stars during World War II. In peace time, Stewart
continued to be an active member of the Air Force as
a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General
before retiring in the late 1950s.
Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke
out). Although he was beyond the draft age at the
time the U.S. entered WW II, Clark Gable enlisted as
a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los
Angeles. He attended the Officers' CandidateSchool
at Miami Beach , Fla. and graduated
as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then
attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943 he
was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook
where he flew operational missions over Europe in
B-17s. Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943
and was relieved from active duty as a major on Jun.
12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age
for combat.
Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in
Kodiak.
Ernest Borgnine was a U.S. Navy Gunners Mate
1935-1945.
Charles Durning was a U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy
earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart.
Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air
Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air
Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan
George C. Scott was a decorated U.S. Marine.
Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze
Star for his heroic action as a U. S. Naval officer
aiding Marines at the horrific battle on
the Island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.
Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in
several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the
Pacific.
Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine
on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was
wounded earning the Purple Heart.
John Russell: In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine
Corps where he received a battlefield commission and
was wounded and highly decorated for valor at
Guadalcanal.
Robert Ryan was a U.S. Marine who served with the
O.S.S. in Yugoslavia.
Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl
Harbor was bombed) joined the U.S. Marines, was a
pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out
of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Audie Murphy, the little 5'5" tall 110 pound guy
from Texas who played cowboy parts: Most Decorated
serviceman of WWII and earned: Medal of Honor,
Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals,
Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2
Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian
Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished
Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal,
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with
One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars
(representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze
Arrowhead(representing assault landing at Sicily and
Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of
Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces
Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge
with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar,
French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre,
French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French
Croix de Guerre With
Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal
of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940
Palm.
So how do you feel the real heroes of the silver
screen acted when compared to the hollywonks today
who spewout anti-American drivel as they bite the
hand that feeds them? Can you imagine these stars of
yester-year saying they hate our flag, making
anti-war speeches, and marching in anti-American
parades and saying they hate our president?
I thought
not, neither did I!
If you
enjoyed this bit of history, please share it.
