The greatest generation (Actors & WW2)

[11B4V]

Inspired by the Borgnine thread.

Some interesting stuff.

http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/military/actors_in_wwii.html

[Tonitrus]

They missed Charlton Heston. 

[Syt]

And Christopher Lee.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_lee#Involvement_in_World_War_II

[11B4V]

Jackie Coogan enlisted in the United States Army in March 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he requested a transfer to United States Army Air Forces as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. After graduating from glider school, he was made a flight officer and he volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group. In December 1943, the unit was sent to India. He flew British troops, the Chindits, under General Orde Wingate on March 5, 1944, landing them at night in a small jungle clearing 100 miles behind Japanese lines in the Burma campaign

[Syt]

Not to mention James "Scotty" Doohan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Doohan#Military_service

At the beginning of the Second World War, Doohan joined the Royal Canadian Artillery. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the 13th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Doohan went to England in 1940 for training. His first combat was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers, Doohan led his men to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 11:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a Bren gun by a nervous Canadian sentry:[3] four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was stopped by a silver cigarette case. His right middle finger had to be amputated, something he would conceal during his career as an actor.

Doohan trained as a pilot (graduating from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with 11 other Canadian artillery officers),[5] and flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF, as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in support of 1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery. All three Canadian (AOP) RCAF Squadrons were manned by Artillery Officer-pilots and accompanied by non-commissioned RCA and RCAF personnel serving as observers.

Although never actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Doohan was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force." A story from his flying years tells of Doohan slaloming a plane – variously cited as a Hurricane or a jet trainer – between mountainside telegraph poles to prove it could be done, which earned him a serious reprimand. (The actual feat was performed in a Mark IV Auster on the Salisbury Plain north of RAF Andover in the late spring of 1945).

[11B4V]

Durning served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Drafted at age 21, he was first assigned as a rifleman with the 398th Infantry Regiment, and later served overseas with the 3rd Army Support troops and the 386th Anti-aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion. For his valor and the wounds he received during the war, Durning was awarded the Silver Star and three Purple Heart medals.[1]

Durning participated in the Normandy Invasion of France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was among the first troops to land at Omaha Beach. Some sources state that he was with the 1st Infantry Division at the time, but it is unclear if he served as a rifleman or as a member of one of the division's artillery battalions.[citation needed]

Charles Durning was wounded by a German "S" Mine on June 15, 1944, at Les Mare des Mares, France. He was transported to the 24th Evacuation Hospital. By June 17 he was back in England at the 217th General Hospital. Although severely wounded by shrapnel in the left and right thighs, the right hand, the frontal region of the head, and the anterior left chest wall, Durning recovered quickly and was determined to be fit for duty on December 6, 1944. He arrived back at the front in time to take part in the Battle of the Bulge, the German counter-offensive through the Ardennes Forest of Belgium and Luxembourg in December 1944.[2][3]

After being wounded again, this time in the chest, Durning was repatriated to the United States. He remained in Army hospitals to receive treatment for wounds until being discharged with the rank of Private First Class on January 30, 1946.

[11B4V]

Hepburn adopted the pseudonym Edda van Heemstra, a derivative of her mother's name Ella,[18] because an "English sounding" name was considered dangerous during the German occupation. In 1942, her uncle Otto van Limburg Stirum, husband of Ella's older sister Miesje, was executed in retaliation for a sabotage by the resistance movement, while her half-brother Jan was deported to Berlin to work in a German labour camp (Alex went into hiding to avoid the same fate).[19] After this, Ella, Miesje and Audrey moved in with Baron van Heemstra in nearby Velp. During her wartime struggles, Hepburn suffered from malnutrition, developed acute anæmia, respiratory problems, and œdema.[20] Hepburn, in a retrospective interview, commented, "I have memories. More than once I was at the station seeing trainloads of Jews being transported, seeing all these faces over the top of the wagon. I remember, very sharply, one little boy standing with his parents on the platform, very pale, very blond, wearing a coat that was much too big for him, and he stepped on to the train. I was a child observing a child."[21]

Notwithstanding such strife, by 1944, Hepburn had become a proficient ballerina. She had secretly danced for groups of people to collect money for the Dutch resistance. "The best audience I ever had made not a single sound at the end of my performances," she remarked.[22] After the Allied landing on D-Day, living conditions grew worse and Arnhem was subsequently devastated by Allied artillery fire under Operation Market Garden. During the Dutch famine that followed in the winter of 1944, the Germans had blocked the resupply routes of the Netherlands' already-limited food and fuel supplies as retaliation for railway strikes that were held to hinder German occupation. People starved and froze to death in the streets; Hepburn and many others resorted to making flour out of tulip bulbs to bake cakes and biscuits.[13][23] One way that Hepburn passed the time was by drawing; some of her childhood artwork can be seen today.[24] When the country was liberated, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration trucks followed.[25] Hepburn said in an interview that she fell ill from putting too much sugar in her oatmeal and eating an entire can of condensed milk.[26] Hepburn's war-time experiences sparked her devotion to UNICEF, an international humanitarian organisation, in her later career.[13][23]

[11B4V]

Serling marched away from the successful mission in Leyte with two wounds including one to his kneecap[23] but neither was enough to keep him from combat when General MacArthur used the paratroopers as they were intended on February 3, 1945. Colonel Haugen led the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment as it landed on Tagaytay Ridge, met up with the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment and marched into Manila. There was minimal resistance until they reached the city where Vice Admiral Sanji Iwabuchi had barricaded his 17,000 troops behind a maze of traps and guns and ordered them to fight to the death.[24] The next month witnessed Serling's unit involved in a block-by-block battle for control of Manila. As portions of the town were freed from Japanese control, the civilians showed their gratitude by throwing parties and hosting banquets. During one of these parties Serling and his comrades were fired upon and many people, both soldiers and civilians, were killed. Serling, still a Private after three years, caught the attention of Sergeant Frank Lewis when he ran into the line of fire to rescue a performer who had been on stage when the artillery started.[25] As the troops continued to move in on Iwabuchi's stronghold Serling's regiment suffered a 50 percent casualty rate, with over 400 men killed. Serling was wounded, and three of the men he was with were killed by shrapnel from rounds fired at his roving demolition team by an anti-aircraft gun.[26] He was sent to New Guinea to recover but soon chose to return to Manila to finish 'cleaning up'. Private Serling's final assignment was as part of the occupation force in Japan.[27] For his service to the U.S. Army he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star,[28] and the Philippine Liberation Medal.[4]

Serling's Army combat service affected him deeply and also influenced much of his writing. His wartime combat experiences left Serling with nightmares and flashbacks which would plague him for the rest of his life.[4] He was quoted as saying, "I was bitter about everything and at loose ends when I got out of the service. I think I turned to writing to get it off my chest."[1]

[jimmy olsen]

Of all the actors who fought in WWII I've always been most impressed by Jimmy Stewart. He was the most famous of all of them and he volunteered for and served with exemplary bravery and skill in one of the most dangerous theaters of the war.

[11B4V]

Wapner was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star while serving in the South Pacific in Cebu. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant.

[11B4V]

Marvin left school to join the United States Marine Corps, serving in the 4th Marine Division.[8] He was wounded in action during the WWII Battle of Saipan, in the assault on Mount Tapochau, during which most of his company ("I" Company, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division) were killed.[9] Marvin's wound (in the buttocks) was from machine gun fire, which severed his sciatic nerve.[10] He was awarded the Purple Heart and was given a medical discharge with the rank of Private First Class.[

[11B4V]

Prior to World War II, and before his film career, Albert had toured Mexico as a clown and high-wire artist with the Escalante Brothers Circus, but secretly worked for U.S. Army intelligence, photographing German U-boats in Mexican harbors.[4] On September 9, 1942, Albert enlisted in the United States Navy and was discharged in 1943 to accept an appointment as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat "V" for his actions during the invasion of Tarawa in November 1943, when, as the pilot of a U.S. Coast Guard landing craft, he rescued 47 Marines who were stranded offshore (and supervised the rescue of 30 others), while under heavy enemy machine-gun fire.[5]

[11B4V]

Arness wanted to be a naval fighter pilot, but he felt his poor eyesight would bar him. His height of 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) ended his hopes, since 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) was the limit for aviators. Instead, he was called for the Army and reported to Fort Snelling, Minnesota in March 1943.[6] Arness served as a rifleman with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, and was severely wounded during Operation Shingle, at Anzio, Italy.[8]

According to James Arness – An Autobiography, he landed on Anzio Beachhead on January 22, 1944 as a rifleman with 2nd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. Because of his height, he was the first ordered off his landing craft to determine the depth of the water; it came up to his waist.[6]

On January 29, 1945, having undergone surgery several times, Arness was honorably discharged. His wounds continued to bother him, and in later years Arness suffered from chronic leg pain,[2] which sometimes hurt when mounting a horse. His decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart,[2] the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge.[9]

[Razgovory]

Do actors who had Hollywood careers before the war, served in it and then came back count, like Henry Fonda?

[11B4V]

Do actors who had Hollywood careers before the war, served in it and then came back count, like Henry Fonda?

He served in WW2 didnt he.