Enduring another Elvis special, thanx to my ball and chain,
I began to wonder if there are any reliable sources re
the conditions that celebrities face when inducted.
We can even delve into the depths of time for all those
who served WW2 etc. I am curious about what these “names”
actually did in the service of their country.
Jimmy Stewart served in combat during WW2. AFAIK, he didn’t get any special treatment.
http://www.af.mil/news/Jul1997/n19970707_970806.html
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/wwii/js.htm
Jerry Garcia was dishonorably discharged after one too many AWOL’s
peace,
JB
IIRC, Ted Williams,(baseball) served in combat, both WW2 and Korea.
Many show-biz types toured with the USO shows, etc, which was not without danger, and contributed to morale. Joe Louis,(boxing) traveled around overseas putting on boxing exhibitions throughout WW2.
All this according to my late great-uncle, who served in Europe(WW2) and Korea.
In Australia Normie Rowe, the biggest solo male star of the 1960’s, was conscripted in 1968 and served in Vietnam. Supposedly he was conscripted only because of who he was, his birthday had not actually come out in the ballot. His career died while he served 2 years. He is now a well known advocate for Vietnam vets, famous for assaulting a critic on live TV.
Do you mean celebs who were famous before they went into the service? Most examples will be from WW2, of course.
One exeption that comes to mind is Glenn Ford, who interrupted his movie career to serve in Vietnam with the Marine Corps Reserve.
Glenn Miller springs to mind.
Audie Murphy as well.
Audie Murphy was only famous after his actions in WW2.
The most decorated man in the US Armed Forces.
Dammit, you beat me to it!
Although he never served in combat-he did lead the Army Air Force Band and reached the rank of Major. Unfortunately, he was lost over the English Channel when his plane went down. (Modern sources point to a British cancelled bombing mission who were dropping their munitions and didn’t spot the plane carrying Miller until it was too late.)
I HEART Glenn Miller.
Celebrities in WWII were usually given non-combat duty unless they pushed for it. People like John Ford and Frank Capra were put in charge of making army films, for instance (though they may have been a bit old at the time to go into combat). James Stewart as a bit old, too, but he did fly combat missions.
Jimmy Stewart piloted B-17s, B-24s, B-47s and B-52s. Clark Gable flew bombing missions in a B-17. Sabu, an established star and US citizen, was a ball turret gunner in B-24 Liberators in the Pacific Theater for 40 missions.
From Gene Autry’s website.
“Entertainer Gene Autry joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 and became Sgt. Gene Autry. During the war, he ferried fuel, ammunition, and arms in the China-India-Burma theater of war and flew over the Himalayas, the hazardous air route known as “The Hump.””
“Autry is the only entertainer to have five stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, one each for radio, records, movies, television, and live performance including rodeo and theater appearances.”
Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable, as was mentioned, were bomber crews. These were among the most dangerous jobs in the war, especially flying the daylight raids in the B-17’s.
Jimmy Stewart was a Colonel in WWII, and eventually became a Brigadier General. The man was so humble about his military service that to this day many people don’t realize that he actually made it to General, let alone that he flew bombers in the war. He continued serving in the Air Force after the war, and stayed in the reserves for a long time (until 1968).
Clark Gable earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal for his combat duty. And he actually lied about his age to serve, because he was past the ‘cut-off’ age for combat.
Charles Lindbergh was a vocal anti-war activist, so much so that he was branded a fascist and Nazi sympathizer. Nevertheless, the minute the war was actually declared he volunteered for duty and wound up making tremendous contributions to the war effort. In particular, he taught P-38 pilots how to extend their range by flying with high manifold pressure, low RPM, and lean mixture, and extended the range of the aircraft enough that it made a significant improvement in the war in the Pacific. The trick he taught them was one he learned for conserving fuel for his solo Atlantic crossing in the Spirit of St. Louis.
David Niven: He refused to talk about his military service, because it troubled him deeply. He was already a star when he joined up in the infantry, and became a commando. He was awarded the Legion of Merit by no less than Dwight Eisenhower himself, so it’s a good guess that he saw some hard combat and did some impressive things. He was a Lieutenant Colonel when he retired.
No one has mentioned Jerry Mathers? 
One interesting example was Bob Mosly, the bassist of Moby Grape. At the height of their fame, he left the band and became a Marine. A quite unusual thing for a “hippie” from the Haight to do in the thick of the Vietnam War.
Other than Elvis and Glenn Ford, I can’t think of many really big celebrities in the armed forces after the WWII period. In fact, other than Harvey Keitel, I cant think of any currently famous actors who were ever in the military, unless they are old enough to be WWII vets…Charleton Heston for instance.
Prince Andrew (UK) fought in the Falklands War, flying helicopters to act as decoys for the Exocets to lock on to.
[sub]Or is this stretching the whole celebrity thing too far?[/sub]
Lindbergh made no secret that he was an incredible racist and an anti-semite.
John Carter of Mars pointed out Ted Williams, but he wasn’t the only baseball player to serve in WWII. Many of the games greatest stars, including Bob Feller and Joe DiMaggio also served during World War II.
Zev Steinhardt
MST3K fans might be interested to know that Arch Hall Jr, who played that Cabbage Patch Elvis boyfriend of the girl in ‘Eeegah’ was a pilot in Vietnam.
Jimi Hendrix was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division in the early '60s. He got a medical discharge after injuring his back in a training jump.
As for Elvis, I’m sure he got at least some preferrential treatment, but Sgt Presley was a tank driver and was stationed in Germany for a while, so if a war had broken out in Europe, Elvis would’ve been in the thick of things. Theoretically.
I’m nearly as much in awe of Ted Williams’ service career as his baseball career, but unless I’m mistaken, he didn’t actually fly combat missions in WWII – as was often the case with the pilots who showed the greatest aptitude for flying and air combat, he was retained stateside as an instructor for other Marine pilots. According to one source, he set aerial gunnery records during training that still stand. He did serve with distinction in Korea, flying approximately 40 combat missions, at least some as wingman for future astronaut and Senator John Glenn.
His military record is exceeded by that of Padres broadcaster, 1949 AL Rookie of the Year, 1950 All-Star and World Series MVP, and fellow Marine pilot Jerry Coleman. Coleman also had his baseball career interrupted by military service twice, for both WWII and Korea. Coleman flew a total of 120 combat missions (57 in WWII, 63 in Korea).
Most serious baseball fans are aware of others: Cecil Travis, who hit .359 (second only to Williams) in 1941, was drafted in January 1942 at age 28 at what should have been the midpoint of a possible Hall of Fame career, and served in an infantry unit at or near the front lines until frostbite suffered during the Battle of the Bulge disabled him. He returned and played in 1945 and 1946, but was ineffective and retired. Bob Feller was perhaps the best pitcher in the AL when he volunteered for the Navy 2 days after Pearl Harbor and requested combat duty. He served aboard the battleship USS Alabama for the duration of the war as a gun crew captain on an anti-aircraft gun. Hugh “Losing Pitcher” Mulcahy, who was a much better pitcher than his nickname would have you think, and who was drafted before the 1941 season, and served throughout the war – a total of 53 months, and effectively five full seasons, sacrificed to military service, much of it in the Pacific Theater. Hank Greenberg didn’t see combat, but he was actively serving in the establishment of military airfields and defense plants both overseas and at home throughout the war – Greenberg was actually drafted before the war, served through the 1941 season and was discharged on Dec. 5, 1941. He re-enlisted a few days later.
In all, it’s been estimated that there were 5,800 professional baseball players in the US before Pearl Harbor, and that 5,400 of those eventually served in the military during the war. Many of the major leaguers did get a certain amount of preferential treatment – playing ball against other draftees from the professional ranks, well away from the front lines, but in many cases they’d have been perfectly willing to serve in combat units had they been assigned to them.