In Awe of the Greatest Generation

[greenwald]

Here is another example of why I am constantly in awe of "The Greatest Generation" of Americans!


Stewart Hayden, US Marines and OSS. Smuggled guns into Yugoslavia and parachuted into Croatia.

James Stewart, US Army Air Corps. Bomber pilot who rose to the rank of General.

Ernest Borgnine, US Navy. Gunners Mate 1c, destroyer *USS Lamberton*.

Ed McMahon, US Marines. Fighter Pilot. (Flew OE-1 Bird Dogs over Korea as well.)

Telly Savalas, US Army.

Walter Matthau, US Army Air Corps., B-24 Radioman/Gunner and cryptographer.

Steve Forrest, US Army. Wounded, Battle of the Bulge.

Jonathan Winters, USMC. Battleship *USS Wisconsin* and Carrier *USS Bon
Homme Richard*. Anti-aircraft gunner, Battle of Okinawa.

Paul Newman, US Navy Rear seat gunner/radioman, torpedo bombers of *USS
Bunker Hill*

Kirk Douglas, US Navy. Sub-chaser in the Pacific. Wounded in action and medically discharged.

Robert Mitchum, US Army.

Dale Robertson, US Army. Tank Commander in North Africa under Patton.
Wounded twice. Battlefield Commission.

Henry Fonda, US Navy. Destroyer *USS Satterlee*.

John Carroll, US Army Air Corps. Pilot in North Africa. Broke his back in a crash.

Lee Marvin US Marines. Sniper. Wounded in action on Saipan. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Sec. 7A next to Greg Boyington and Joe Louis.

Art Carney, US Army. Wounded on Normandy beach, D-Day. Limped for the rest
of his life.

Wayne Morris, US Navy fighter pilot, *USS Essex*. Downed seven Japanese fighters.

Rod Steiger, US Navy. Was aboard one of the ships that launched the Doolittle Raid.

Tony Curtis, US Navy. Sub tender *USS Proteus*. In Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan.

Larry Storch. US Navy. Sub tender *USS Proteus* with Tony Curtis.

Forrest Tucker, US Army. Enlisted as a private, rose to Lieutenant.

Robert Montgomery, US Navy.

George Kennedy, US Army. Enlisted after Pearl Harbor, stayed in sixteen years.

Mickey Rooney, US Army under Patton. Bronze Star.

Denver Pyle, US Navy. Wounded in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Medically discharged.

Burgess Meredith, US Army Air Corps.

DeForest Kelley, US Army Air Corps.

Neville Brand, US Army, Europe. Was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

Tyrone Power, US Marines. Transport pilot in the Pacific Theater.

Charlton Heston, US Army Air Corps. Radio operator and aerial gunner on a B-25, Aleutians.
Danny Aiello, US Army. Lied about his age to enlist at 16. Served three years.

James Arness, US Army. As an infantryman, he was severely wounded at Anzio, Italy.

Efram Zimbalist, Jr., US Army. Purple Heart for a severe wound received at Huertgen Forest.

Mickey Spillane, US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot and later Instructor Pilot.

Rod Serling. US Army. 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific. He jumped at Tagaytay in the Philippines and was later wounded in Manila.

Gene Autry, US Army Air Corps. Crewman on transports that ferried supplies over "The Hump" in the China-Burma-India Theater.

Wiliam Holden, US Army Air Corps.

Alan Hale Jr, US Coast Guard.

Harry Dean Stanton, US Navy. Battle of Okinawa.

Russell Johnson, US Army Air Corps. B-24 crewman who was awarded Purple
Heart when his aircraft was shot down by the Japanese in the Philippines.

William Conrad, US Army Air Corps. Fighter Pilot.

Jack Klugman, US Army.

Frank Sutton, US Army. Took part in 14 assault landings, including Leyte, Luzon, Bataan and Corregidor.

Jackie Coogan, US Army Air Corps. Volunteered for gliders and flew troops
and materials into Burma behind enemy lines.

Tom Bosley, US Navy.

Claude Akins, US Army. Signal Corps., Burma and the Philippines.

Chuck Connors, US Army. Tank-warfare instructor.

Harry Carey Jr., US Navy.

Mel Brooks, US Army. Combat Engineer. Saw action in the Battle of the Bulge.

Robert Altman, US Army Air Corps. B-24 Co-Pilot.

Pat Hingle, US Navy. Destroyer *USS Marshall*

Fred Gwynne, US Navy. Radioman.

Karl Malden, US Army Air Corps. 8th Air Force, NCO.

Earl Holliman. US Navy. Lied about his age to enlist. Discharged after a year when they Navy found out.

Rock Hudson, US Navy. Aircraft mechanic, the Philippines.

Harvey Korman, US Navy.

Aldo Ray. US Navy. UDT frogman, Okinawa.

Don Knotts, US Army, Pacific Theater.

Don Rickles, US Navy aboard *USS Cyrene*.

Harry Dean Stanton, US Navy. Served aboard an LST in the Battle of Okinawa.

Robert Stack, US Navy. Gunnery Instructor.

Soupy Sales, US Navy. Served on USS Randall in the South Pacific.

Lee Van Cleef, US Navy. Served aboard a sub chaser then a mine sweeper.

Clifton James, US Army, South Pacific. Was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze
Star, and Purple Heart.

Ted Knight, US Army, Combat Engineers.

Jack Warden, US Navy, 1938-1942 , then US Army,1942-1945 . 101st Airborne Division.

Don Adams. US Marines. Wounded on Guadalcanal, then served as a Drill
Instructor.

James Gregory, US Navy and US Marines.

Brian Keith, US Marines. Radioman/Gunner in Dauntless dive-bombers.

Fess Parker, US Navy and US Marines. Booted from pilot training for being too tall, joined Marines as a radio operator.

Charles Durning. US Army. Landed at Normandy on D-Day. Shot multiple times.
Awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Survived Malmedy Massacre.

Raymond Burr, US Navy. Shot in the stomach on Okinawa and medically discharged.

Hugh O'Brian, US Marines.

Robert Ryan, US Marines.

Eddie Albert, US Coast Guard. Bronze Star with Combat V for saving several Marines under heavy fire as pilot of a landing craft during the invasion of
Tarawa.

Cark Gable, US Army Air Corps. B-17 gunner over Europe.

Charles Bronson, US Army Air Corps. B-29 gunner, wounded in action.

Peter Graves, US Army Air Corps.

Buddy Hackett, US Army anti-aircraft gunner.

Victor Mature, US Coast Guard.

Jack Palance, US Army Air Corps. Severely injured bailing out of a burning B-24 bomber.

Robert Preston, US Army Air Corps. Intelligence Officer

Cesar Romero, US Coast Guard. Coast Guard. Participated in the invasions of Tinian and Saipan on the assault transport *USS Cavalier*.

Norman Fell, US Army Air Corps., Tail Gunner, Pacific Theater.

Jason Robards, US Navy. was aboard heavy cruiser USS Northampton when it was sunk off Guadalcanal.

Also served on the *USS Nashville* during the
invasion of the Philippines, surviving a kamikaze hit that caused 223 casualties.

Steve Reeves, US Army, Philippines.

Dennis Weaver, US Navy. Pilot.

Robert Taylor, US Navy. Instructor Pilot.
Randolph Scott. Tried to enlist in the Marines but was rejected due to injuries sustained in US Army, World War 1.

Ronald Reagan. US Army. Was a 2nd Lt. in the Cavalry Reserves before the war. His poor eyesight kept him from being sent overseas with his unit when war came so he transferred to the Army Air Corps Public Relations Unit where he served for the duration.

John Wayne. Declared "4F medically unfit" due to pre-existing injuries, he nonetheless attempted to volunteer three times (Army, Navy and Film Corps.) so he gets honorable mention.

And of course we have Audie Murphy, America's most-decorated soldier, who became a Hollywood star as a result of his US Army service that included his being awarded the Medal of Honor.

Would someone please remind me again how many of today's Hollywood & sports elite put their careers on hold to enlist in Iraq or Afghanistan?

The only one who even comes close was Pat Tillman, who turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million over three years from the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the US Army after September, 11, 2001 and serve as a Ranger
in Afghanistan, where he died in 2004.

 

[kantuckid]

And, to add to Kevin's list:
As we all know there's the guy(or gal as many served) that used to live next door and not among the famous listed above. (Have you ever asked where is John Wayne on that list?) When I do my quick daily obit check I often pause to read the "life lived" of the WWII people & of course many are there each day to view.
I am a child of the pre-boomer, WWII kids generation , we were the largest class of kids ( Class of 61) to ever hit the schools of USA. Many of my class mates had no father. Many, like my father,returned, yet had their life direction changed forever. That generation taught me 3r's,coached me, taught my trade & went to work as joe public when war was over & never won an Oscar or gained any fame. You could go right down the hall in my huge HS & everyone of those teachers had served with few exceptions. FWIW, when I went to basic training in 1964 many were still in the military & an "interesting group", to say the least.
Greatest generation side note: We used to pass through the Rock Island yard & the hobo jungle enroute to the Kaw River,summers & weekends, to fish & run our lines when I was a school kid. We often stopped to interact with the hobos as they could be a colorful bunch & as many had an issue (war related?) like booze or mental illness we were leery too. It was fairly common thing to be told that they had "I saved people from a burning plane" during the war, in an effort to "let me have a dime for a cup of coffee". It was common to see them going door to door back then looking for odd jobs. Sadly, a side of that war that we are seeing from todays wars in different but related problems of combat.

As for today's kids, maybe not the Hollywood crowd but lots of our children do volunteer & serve well, doing what they are asked to do. I suppose Kevin's correct that most do not come from the "group mentioned" above-staying clean & out of doghouse...
I can say that of my 2 kids that served it has been a plus in their civilian careers as their service garners respect, in spite of the attitudes held by many in the "hood"or elsewhere.

 

[akbeemer]

Thank you for posting this Kevin. They were a much different breed. My dad served as infantry officer in Europe during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Lest we think that today's younger generations do not have the same level commitment, consider the young men and women I commissioned as LTs in the Army in the late 90s. Some are still in the Army and have spent 5 or 6 years in combat. Unprecedented in our history.

 

[squeaky4432]

And One More

George Gobel was a pilot in the US Army Air Corps.

 

[greenwald]

Thank you for posting this Kevin. They were a much different breed. My dad served as infantry officer in Europe during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Lest we think that today's younger generations do not have the same level commitment, consider the young men and women I commissioned as LTs in the Army in the late 90s. Some are still in the Army and have spent 5 or 6 years in combat. Unprecedented in our history.

I only posted it to entertain with recognizable names from a bygone era. Many, many brave individuals serve every day across the globe in defense of freedom, be it ours or the country they are trying to help - just not many from Hollywood. That was the gest of the posting.

Montana outpost, eh?! Any large winged reptiles spotted recently?

 

[greenwald]

And, to add to Kevin's list:
As we all know there's the guy(or gal as many served) that used to live next door and not among the famous listed above. (Have you ever asked where is John Wayne on that list?) When I do my quick daily obit check I often pause to read the "life lived" of the WWII people & of course many are there each day to view.
I am a child of the pre-boomer, WWII kids generation , we were the largest class of kids ( Class of 61) to ever hit the schools of USA. Many of my class mates had no father. Many, like my father,returned, yet had their life direction changed forever. That generation taught me 3r's,coached me, taught my trade & went to work as joe public when war was over & never won an Oscar or gained any fame. You could go right down the hall in my huge HS & everyone of those teachers had served with few exceptions. FWIW, when I went to basic training in 1964 many were still in the military & an "interesting group", to say the least.
Greatest generation side note: We used to pass through the Rock Island yard & the hobo jungle enroute to the Kaw River,summers & weekends, to fish & run our lines when I was a school kid. We often stopped to interact with the hobos as they could be a colorful bunch & as many had an issue (war related?) like booze or mental illness we were leery too. It was fairly common thing to be told that they had "I saved people from a burning plane" during the war, in an effort to "let me have a dime for a cup of coffee". It was common to see them going door to door back then looking for odd jobs. Sadly, a side of that war that we are seeing from todays wars in different but related problems of combat.

As for today's kids, maybe not the Hollywood crowd but lots of our children do volunteer & serve well, doing what they are asked to do. I suppose Kevin's correct that most do not come from the "group mentioned" above-staying clean & out of doghouse...
I can say that of my 2 kids that served it has been a plus in their civilian careers as their service garners respect, in spite of the attitudes held by many in the "hood"or elsewhere.

Same here. My son seems a better person for his service (4 years a Marine, and now 4+ years and counting as an Army Staff Sergeant - multiple tours in Iraq).

Thank your kids for serving!

 

[brewmeister]

I met john wayn at fort benning ga. in 1966 when I was 10yo visiting my uncle when he was in ocs,the green baret was filmed there.

 

[motodan]

It was certainly a different time back then, a very united effort to defeat a very visible foe(s). While we have committed people today, they do their "work" without the same overwhelming support from their nation.

 

[glenfiddich]

And let's not forget Bob Hope and company who brought a bit of joy and humor to those of us deployed in harms way so very very far from home.

 

[motodan]

Yes...thank those men and women from the USO..not much pay, hostile fire and "icky" conditions for sure.

 

[36654]

I only posted it to entertain with recognizable names from a bygone era. Many, many brave individuals serve every day across the globe in defense of freedom, be it ours or the country they are trying to help - just not many from Hollywood. That was the gest of the posting.

Comparing today, or any time since the start of college/apprentice program draft deferments is invalid. Excluding health or family reasons, able bodied young men in the WW-II era were drafted.

Relative to those trying to help........do you really wish to point a finger of disapproval at everyone that isn't in the reserves or enlisted? If so, you better look well beyond Hollywood. There's 314Million Americans with 1.43M active duty and 0.85M reserves. That leaves 311M people to point at.

IMHO, honoring the Great Depression & WW-II generation would be better done by making this country a better place than the one they left........

 

[akbeemer]

Montana outpost, eh?! Any large winged reptiles spotted recently?

Surprisingly, the Pterodactyl's home range is in Alaska. There are a few of us down here in the tropics and we just happen to be a on major migratory route. We had a few Pteros pass through last fall.

 

[akbeemer]

Comparing today, or any time since the start of college/apprentice program draft deferments is invalid. Excluding health or family reasons, able bodied young men in the WW-II era were drafted.

Relative to those trying to help........do you really wish to point a finger of disapproval at everyone that isn't in the reserves or enlisted? If so, you better look well beyond Hollywood. There's 314Million Americans with 1.43M active duty and 0.85M reserves. That leaves 311M people to point at.

IMHO, honoring the Great Depression & WW-II generation would be better done by making this country a better place than the one they left........

Holy cow Jon, the guy just wanted to say something positive about some people. Don't infer that by doing so he was demeaning those not on his list.

 

[motodan]

Holy cow Jon, the guy just wanted to say something positive about some people. Don't infer that by doing so he was demeaning those not on his list.

+1. Not so sure 36654, many people were not drafted due to their occupation...coal miners by the thousands were not....coal powered our war efforts. It was a different time...too bad but different expectations today. Plus, we don't do near as well when our opponent doesn't wear a uniform. I do believe they are the greatest generation as per the context of Tom Brokaw's book.

 

[36654]

Holy cow Jon, the guy just wanted to say something positive about some people. Don't infer that by doing so he was demeaning those not on his list.

"I only posted it to entertain with recognizable names from a bygone era. Many, many brave individuals serve every day across the globe in defense of freedom, be it ours or the country they are trying to help - just not many from Hollywood. That was the gest of the posting."

The Depression Era / WW-II generation did a great thing. Especially, after the war, when they helped build and transform a nation.

Isolating the folks in one industry (that I have no connection to) as non-supportive of protecting the nations freedoms was a cheap shot. The gest of my response was.....If Ken wants to be consistent, he needs to modify his statement to cast the list of non-supporters to well beyond Hollywood.

 

[Omega Man]

It's too bad 176178 decided to delete his post.
OM

 

[36654]

+1. Not so sure 36654, many people were not drafted due to their occupation...coal miners by the thousands were not....coal powered our war efforts. It was a different time...too bad but different expectations today. Plus, we don't do near as well when our opponent doesn't wear a uniform. I do believe they are the greatest generation as per the context of Tom Brokaw's book.

Yes, defense and a critical industry employees did receive deferments, but typically had to have some form of physical disqualification like poor eyesight or bad joints. My father was partially blinded in one eye and had a bad knee. Although a defense plant welder, at the time, he reported four times for the draft medical. After four rejections, (poor eye sight) they quit calling him up.


That generation was great because of what they did during and after the war. It didn't end in 1945. When the Greatest generation was in their late 40's and early 50's, they landed a man on the moon and had completed the Interstates. Were they perfect, no? McCarthy proved that.

 

[motodan]

Yes, defense and a critical industry employees did receive deferments, but typically had to have some form of physical disqualification like poor eyesight or bad joints. My father was partially blinded in one eye and had a bad knee. Although a defense plant welder, at the time, he reported four times for the draft medical. After four rejections, (poor eye sight) they quit calling him up.


That generation was great because of what they did during and after the war. It didn't end in 1945. When the Greatest generation was in their late 40's and early 50's, they landed a man on the moon and had completed the Interstates. Were they perfect, no? McCarthy proved that.

No they didn't have to have a physical disqualification. And I'm not sure you can say McCarthy proved much, but he did give birth to "McC'arthyism which is, the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. It also means "the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism." That's what McCarthy proved and he was and still is discredited for it. Perhaps getting too political, but hopefully staying more on the edge of written history.

 

[greenwald]

Holy cow Jon, the guy just wanted to say something positive about some people. Don't infer that by doing so he was demeaning those not on his list.

He completely missed the point. Just let it go, and enjoy perusing the list.

 

[BCKRider]

He completely missed the point. Just let it go, and enjoy perusing the list.

Kevin, near the bottom of your OP your wrote " Would someone please remind me how many of today's Hollywood and sports elite put their careers on hold to enlist in Iraq or Afghanistan?

I believe there is presumption there that THEY SHOULD have put their careers on hold to participate in these more recent wars if they physically could do so. I think you are also presuming the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (Vietnam?) are equivalent to WW II as necessary to preserving the freedom of the US and its European allies. (Please correct me if my presumptions are wrong.)

Many young Americans, famous or not, but who now have the choice to serve or not, decided that putting their lives on the line for these wars was a bad idea. That is just a fact. I suspect that any debate here about how right/wrong American presence in these various wars the US was/is in will get this thread killed. No politics on this forum.

I respect the choice that many have made to join the US armed services. They thought the government was right, wanted to serve, and maybe needed the after-service benefits. I deeply regret so many losses of lives, limbs and minds.