# The Straight Dope referenced in FB article about John Wayne **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338 "2023-03-19T02:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/1 "2023-03-19T02:42:20Z")
Just came across this in an article in my Facebook feed. > **[Facts We Just Learned About John Wayne That Made Us Say 'Whoa'](https://www.ranker.com/list/whoa-john-wayne-facts/alby-thompson)** > > John Wayne appeared in nearly 200 films in his long career - most of them westerns. No method actor, Wayne was a screen persona, an idealized specimen of machismo. As he once told fellow actor Michael Caine, "Talk low, talk slow, and don't say... > Context: [The Straight Dope](https://www.straightdope.com/21342206/was-john-wayne-a-draft-dodger) offers a nuanced assessment of Wayne’s decision not to enlist. The actor was 34 years old at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, had four children to feed, and had yet to become a real star. Henry Fonda was 37 when he enlisted, but he was already an established name. Wayne feared military service would end whatever momentum he’d started to accumulate in his career. Wayne’s profile steadily rose through the war years, and by 1944 he received a government deferment due to his “support of [the] national… interest.” He was later reclassified as 1-A, but his studio managed to reverse the decision and keep him stateside. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/2 "2023-03-19T05:07:49Z")
When the war first started, were 34-year-olds really the target audience for enlistment? I would have thought it would be those 18-to-25-year-olds, for the reasons specifically mentioned - by their 30’s, most men had family to support and a longer-term job, possibly in industry, that would be needed for the war effort. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/3 "2023-03-19T12:49:31Z")
It is my sense, and I’m not certain about this, that during WWII the draft included older men in their 30s. It wasn’t until later, during Vietnam, that the draft focused on men who were 18, 19. Just a SWAG. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/4 "2023-03-19T14:21:22Z")
My dad was 31 at the time of Pearl Harbor. I think, though not sure, he enlisted rather than got drafted, in “for the duration”, and he was “class of '45”. If you wanted to serve, they’d take you. On the one hand, Jimmy Stewart flew actual combat missions, on the other, there were a lot of actors younger than Wayne that spent the first half of the 40’s on the celluloid front. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/5 "2023-03-19T14:49:14Z")
Ted Williams flew combat missions. WWII and Korea. At one point his wingman was John Glenn. ETA — Williams was 23 and at the height of his career when he joined. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/6 "2023-03-19T15:01:45Z")
I believe my “alternative ending to Big” thread has been cited in articles dealing with the Mandela effect. I can’t imagine I have the oldest reference to that specific Mandela effect, but I have one of the older ones on the internet, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-straight-dope-referenced-in-fb-article-about-john-wayne/981338/7 "2023-03-19T15:55:22Z")
Looks like one of those thread-enders to me. Or am I just _so_ far out of touch I ain’t never gettin’ back? Dan