# Did you know John Wayne was "America's Greatest Patriot"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 19, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657 "2017-07-19T16:41:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/21 "2017-07-19T18:36:31Z")
Bob Feller! Born in Iowa! He interrupted his blossoming baseball career (AND left his dying father) to be the first American athlete to enlist for WW2! Served combat duty! Came back and helped the Indians win the 1948 World Series (no wins since)! Fought for MLB players rights! Grew to be a bit of a cranky old man! Can’t get more American than that! 🙂 ! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/22 "2017-07-19T19:08:06Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Jimmy Stewart enlisted as a private, rose to the rank of Colonel during the war, flew missions on B-17s and B-24s, bombed Berlin, received numerous medals, remained in the reserves after the war, was eventually promoted to Brigadier General and actually flew as an observer on a B-52 mission over Vietnam. And Stewart never used his service to celebrate himself or advance his later career after resuming acting, and in fact rarely mentioned it except to promote the Air Force in documentaries and _Strategic Air Command_. Marion Morrison was a racist, misogynistic movie star who promoted the maniliness of combat that he never personally experienced. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/23 "2017-07-19T19:56:42Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > John Wayne may have been a patriot. He was also a white supremacist. He said, “I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility.” He also approved of Americans taking land from the Native Americans who were “selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.” > > I thought he was terrific in “The Shootist”, though. > [Did John Wayne Say He Believed in White Supremacy? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/john-wayne-white-supremacy/) I wouldn’t categorize him with the modern notion of a white supremacist. He was echoing the popular notions of the time he lived in. By all accounts he not demonstrate prejudice on a personal level but he certainly did maintain some old fashioned views that would have been considered vile when he made that statement in 1971. In this regard he was an ignorant fool but I think would be reviled by what currently is considered a white supremacist. That’s no excuse for that statement but he wasn’t as extreme as it sounds either. More like a 7 or 8 on the scale of assholery in that regard than a 9 or a 10. And to his credit somewhat tempered by his actions and other words over time also. But no doubt he was on the wrong side of the line. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/24 "2017-07-19T20:14:05Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > No way. He had a girls name. That disqualifies him from everything. > > Ronny Reagan is the Greatest Patriot ever. Reagan spent his WWII service in the US. John Wayne never served at all. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/25 "2017-07-19T20:20:06Z")
Forget “America’s Favorite Patriot,” it’s time we decided just who is “America’s Favorite Patrick?” I don’t see how it can be anyone but Swayze. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/26 "2017-07-19T20:31:17Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Forget “America’s Favorite Patriot,” it’s time we decided just who is “America’s Favorite Patrick?” > > I don’t see how it can be anyone but Swayze. IIRC, Patrick Stewart has applied for US citizenship. I’m not sure where he stands in the process. But, if he does become a citizen, he will be my favorite American Patrick. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/27 "2017-07-19T20:40:55Z")
He’ll have to return his knighthood, too. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/28 "2017-07-19T20:41:08Z")
Uh, what? How many memes star Patrick Swayze? I think we know[America’s favorite Patrick](https://www.google.com/search?q=patrick+memes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKmsSXmpbVAhUDwj4KHdtVC1kQ_AUICigB&biw=1600&bih=767). ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/29 "2017-07-19T20:55:40Z")
I think it goes without saying that Patrick Henry is still America’s Most Patriotic Patrick? We don’t need to re-open this can of worms, right? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/30 "2017-07-19T21:07:37Z")
Wait! Does Patrick Swayze have a holiday named after him? Do we get blackout drunk to celebrate Patrick Henry? Does anyone pretend to be British and demand kisses in honor of Patrick Stewart? I think America’s favorite Patrick is actually an Irish saint. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/31 "2017-07-20T00:38:55Z")
[John Wayne was a fag.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uv_WGEHr4I) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/32 "2017-07-20T13:57:28Z")
He was a racist and anti-Semite. If these are patriotic values, I’ll pass. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657/33 "2017-07-20T17:08:48Z")
He made many statements over several decades that indicated he either failed to understand or just plain ignored the US Constitution. Esp. on other people’s First Amendment rights. Ordinary patriots don’t have that flaw let alone the Greatest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-john-wayne-was-americas-greatest-patriot/791657.md?page=1)