[lowbridge]

"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."

"When the Duke was a young man he wanted to attend Annapolis (the Navy Military Academy) but was unable to win an appointment from his state's Senator. When he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Southern California he went there to play football. The Duke was 34 when World War II started and the father of 4 children so he was exempted from the draft. If he was to volunteer his medical examination showed that he would have needed to seek a wavier for his bad ankle something that was not being granted until much later in the war and never for combat troops."

http://www.jwaynefan.com/military.html

"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."

Gable and Stewart didn't have a wife and 4 kids to support. They were both single and childless at the time (Gable was a widow, his wife Carole Lombard dying in a plane crash)

[The Pack Knight]

Phil Mushnick.. sounds familiar..

[SittinYonder]

He didn't have to enlist. And he didn't.

But that won't prevent us from making a big deal out of it, because we hate anything that might represent what is great about this nation and John Wayne - because of the larger-than-life and purely American characters he portrayed - represents some of the greatness of this country.

We are the NY Slimes, and we represent what is dispicable.

[JEC]

Gable was a widow, his wife Carole Lombard dying in a plane crash

While on a war bond drive.

[Little_shoe]

I was talking to a friend of mine who was in the Navy during WW2 and Korea who mentioned this to me about two weeks ago.

[PROTESTBYPROXY]

This may all be true but I will bet my life he did more for my country than you, Mr.Mushnick.

[SeaBiscuit]

Thank You! ..also, the military believed at that time John Wayne would do the country a better service by continuing to make patriotic war films..

[Paperdoll]

John Wayne fought on a different front. His reruns are still doing it. :o)

[dsc]

I was going to e-mail Mushnik, but couldn’t find a link.

“Phil, you ignorant slut. Wayne tried to enlist, was turned down, and flew to D.C. at his own expense to ask for a waiver—also refused.

I understand your burning emotional need to wee-wee on Wayne’s memory, given that you are a pathetic loser who is not fit to chew his jockstraps clean, but you really should try to find or invent some slander that is not so easily rebutted.”

[RGSpincich]

So what? Jimmy Sewart got the credit when John Wayne shot Liberty Valance. /s
John Wayne served his country well at what he did.

[KC_Conspirator]

This is nothing more than a childish attempt to take a slap at Wayne because he stood for America, conservatism, and all that was good in this country. So this piece of filth, this lying author, stands for hating America and all that is perverted.

[LibFreeOrDie]

This Memorial Day weekend coincided with Wayne’s 100th birthday, and it’s always been public knowledge that Wayne wasn’t in the military, so Mushnick should shuddup already...

[Michael.SF.]

that Wayne that Wayne assiduously avoided military service during World War II, ... He didn't have to enlist. And he didn't.

Not enlisting is equated to "assiduously avoid(ing)"?

I guess I then I am guilty of assiduously avoiding Vietnam with my "320" lottery number.

[EndWelfareToday]

I'd like to know how many young men joined the military because of the rolls John Wayne played on the silver screen? How many young men wanted to be the like the war heroes Mr. Wayne's characters were?

There are many ways to serve one's country in a time of war. Belittling any of those acts of patriotism only serves to diminish the strength and character of our armed forces. Wayne could have been like Bill Clinton and slithered off to Germany/Italy or Japan and aided and abetted our enemy like Clinton did in the former USSR. He could have been like Jane Fonda, Tom Hanks or Meg Ryan and stared in movies that made the military look like a bunch of ragtag ignoramuses hell bent on tearing down the brave men and women sacrificing their lives for the freedoms he enjoyed. Instead he chose to play the roles that glorified the military, the United States and our way of life.

I'd like to know which of Wayne's critics did as much for America, her military and her culture as John Wayne did.

[Oztrich Boy]

Also

Captain Kangaroo was not a real captain
Doctor Hook did not have a medical degree

[No Blue States]

Good, A man with 4 kids shouldnt be leaving. His patriotic films were so beneficial Stalin put a hit out on him.

The foregoing facts clearly influenced the direction of Wayne's later life. By all accounts, Wayne's failure to serve in the military during World War II was the most painful experience of his life.[19] Clearly, there were some other stars who, for various reasons, did not enlist. But Wayne, by virtue of becoming a celluloid war hero in scores of patriotic war films, became the focus of particular disdain from both himself and certain portions of the public, particularly in later years. The rampant patriotism with which he was so identified in the decades to come sprang, it appears, not from hypocrisy but from guilt. Wayne's third wife, Pilar, wrote, "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home."[20]

[RichInOC]

Never mind that. I’m still mourning the fact that the Clara Bow thing wasn’t true.

[rljv]

This is the oldest hit piece in Hollywood and it still fails to impress.
John Wayne improved morale (still does posthumously), so he served. Some other war vets might feel differently.
Maybe The Post can go find something interesting about which to report, like how Gary Sinise never served but spends his free time and money on improving troop morale. That’s the whole list of current John Wayne type Hollywood “hypocrites” (those who help without enlisting). The rest do nothing and worse.
Oh; Stevie Nicks spends money and time on the troops.
There are so many great stories out there in Baghdad and on military bases.
The Post. They can do better than this.
Sigh.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

What’s sad is that all these wingnuts with agendas have platforms with which to spew their vitriol.

[tiki]

And so... Did he go to DC and march against the war? Did he call for assassination of the president? Did every 34 yr old who could have joined up, join?

[Chode]

he did much more for the war effort making movies than had he enlisted...