Gone now. Other stuff too.
Posted on 06/03/2007 11:40:29 AM PDT by lowbridge
this past Memorial Day weekend, was loaded with John Wayne movies, Wayne being the symbol of American stand-up-and-fight courage, especially in the most bloody and noble of U.S. military endeavors.
But when you tell people, especially lovers of John Wayne and all he ostensibly stood for and still stands for, that Wayne assiduously avoided military service during World War II, well, they either don't believe it or don't take it well.
At the outbreak of WW II, Wayne was 34, the father of four and his movie career was on the grow. He didn't have to enlist. And he didn't.
But many other "older" Hollywood leading men heard the call and answered it. Clark Gable was past 40 when he flew combat missions. Jimmy Stewart, who in four years rose from Pvt. Stewart to Col. Stewart, was 34 when he joined the Air Corps, gaining weight to meet the minimum standard.
But John Wayne, the fellow who starred in so many World War II action movies, never served.
Yet, TV programmers have seen to it that Wayne, more than any other American, is synonymous with Memorial Day, a day to honor those who did serve
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Thanks for the link; that’s a pretty good list.
It looks like they haven’t added this one yet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Knight
It freaked me out when I heard that the blow-hard character of
The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the second-most decorated US citizen
soldier of WWII.
(There, now I feel better.)
Why do we even bother with these secular one agenda creeps.
It dosen’t bother me in the least as my father did not serve, even though he volunteered, the local draft board said his Agricultural production was needed more than an enlistment.
-—Captain Kangaroo was not a real captain-—
You really know how to hurt a guy!
Not even if I was Bill Clinton.
Gone now. Other stuff too.
I liked Audy Murphy, played one of the best Billy the Kids. But then again I was six.
How long has the Duke been dead now? No matter, bet he could still kick Munchkin’s or what ever his name is butt still. Don’t mess with John Wayne. Libs still hate solid Repubs long after their gone.
Great. Ill replace my old one with this.
It was not until 1943 during the buildup for Normandy and the expanding offensive in the Pacific that young fathers with children and college students
were called up,. Then those between 18-35 were called into service. By that time Wayne was in his late 30s. He, of course, caught heck from his mentor John Ford because he did not serve. But what would the service have done with him, anyway? Reagan was in uniform but he was kept busiy doing ehat he did best which was propoganda films. The worst one can say about Wayne was that he choose to stay out because Captain’s pay was a lot less than he could get making movies, and unlike Stewart and Gable, his stardom was quite new. Even Stewart struggled to make it back after the war and Reagan’s career was hurt just when it was taking off. Bob Feller, the baseball star, spent four of his best years in the Navy and afterwards, after his arm went lame, he came to regret he had acted so impulsively. On the other hand Ted Williams seemed to have enjoyed his hitches both during WWII and in Korea.
In any case, the thing to remember is that “John Wayne” was in large part a character created by the actor, not different in this respect from “Cary Grant” who was different from Archie Leach. Wayne perhaps took his character too seriously, but there is no doubt that he believed everything he said as John Wayne. Like Reagan, but in a different way, he is beyond the reach of liberal criticism. There was great humor in him, and if anything ever thought he was a clod, then that idea was dispelled by his trip to Harvard. He was bright, well-informed, and witty, and he had most of the Harvard kids eating out of his hand.
Excellent summary of what this “piece” (and I mean that in the most pejorative sense possible) is about.
The obsession with “symbols” of American patriotism and heroism is distressing. We have plenty of heroes and patriots to go around without resorting to symbols.
The info I posted was with regard to facts, not Garry Wills opinion as to the meaning of those facts.
They could, of course, be incorrect, but facts, unlike opinions, should not necessarily be discounted just because we’re suspicious of their source.
“Gone now.”
Thanks. Most people won’t cater to a comma fetish.
Jarhead, Born on the Fourth of July, Brokebutt Mounting just to name a few.
It’s all in the eye of the beholder. I saw all of his movies back when we got into the Saturday matinees for six Pepsi bottle caps. I liked them! I occasionally awake at two in the morning and catch some of his old movies. I still like them and think he does a pretty good job.
The Hollywood that Wayne worked in no longer exists. The studio system is long gone.
This writer sure has p!$$ed off some good people.
However, thats what liberals do, attack those who can not fight back because their either dead, disabled or a fetus.
Some of it has to do with the style of acting at the time. It’s more like “stage acting.” But compare the new Quiet American with Brendan Fraser (sp?) with the Audie Murphy one. In my opinion, the new one is actually better.
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