[jps098]

He was 33 when WW2 began. In all my years in the Marine Corps, I only once met a man over 33 join the Marines and he was barely 34.

Just about everybody I know did not sign up for service after 9-11. They are less than real men according to your silly standard.

[OldPossum]

There’s the Marine Corps now and there’s the Marine Corps of WWII. It’s my understanding that the age requirements were different then.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My dad was 35 when WW II broke out. None of our military services needed to look past the thousands of 17-18-19 year old men who stepped forward so it would have been unlikely John Wayne would have been sworn in anyway.

Dad was able to serve as a civilian pilot flying C-46s in the China-Burma-India Campaign. He wore a military uniform with CBI patch but without rank insignia. Some of these guys moved on to Air America...