Wayne had a number of opportunities to honorably enlist anytime from 1941 to 1945.
He chose not to.
Jimmy Stewart served in the Army Air Corp and flew combat missions over Germany. Was he a prime candidate to be cannon fodder?
I’m sure he couldn’t have gotten sued for enlisting during WW 2…On top of that, just think of the bad publicity for the studio. He obviously just didn’t want to serve…
Yep…him too.
Let’s not forget Mr. bad ass machine gun guy Ted Nugent…
If he had served, he probably would have end up in the motion picture unit:
He didn’t want to serve because he had an affair going with Marlene Dietrich.
This sounds like “hold me back” when someone doesn’t want to fight, but doesn’t want to look like a ■■■■■ either.
America’s entry into World War II resulted in a deluge of support for the war effort from all sectors of society, and Hollywood was no exception. Wayne was exempted from service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status (classified as 3-A – family deferment). Wayne repeatedly wrote to John Ford saying he wanted to enlist, on one occasion inquiring whether he could get into Ford’s military unit, but consistently kept postponing it until after “he finished just one or two pictures”.[3]:212 Wayne did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but Republic Studios was emphatically resistant to losing him since he was their only A-list actor under contract. Herbert J. Yates, President of Republic, threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract,[3]:220 and Republic Pictures intervened in the Selective Service process, requesting Wayne’s further deferment.[3]:213
Wayne (right) acting in a short clip from Angel and the Badman (1947) (click to play)
U.S. National Archives records indicate that Wayne, in fact, did make an application[33] to serve in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the modern CIA, and had been accepted within the U.S. Army’s allotted billet to the OSS. William J. Donovan, OSS Commander, wrote Wayne a letter informing him of his acceptance into the Field Photographic Unit, but the letter went to his estranged wife Josephine’s home. She never told him about it. Donovan also issued an OSS Certificate of Service to Wayne.[34]
So he DID have a good reason LOL.
“Bruce Springsteen: ‘I was a stone-cold draft dodger’ . Bruce Springsteen: I was a ‘draft-dodger’. Bruce Springsteen said writing his song “Born in the U.S.A” helped him cope with his mixed feelings about dodging the draft during the Vietnam War.”
The sicko made millions off of dead vets.
At least Springsteen never acted the part of war heroes in movies like Wayne did. Wayne was a total fraud.
So you give Bruce a pass?
I think it’s up to the Selective Service to give him a pass- don’t you? I don’t have the authority.
No, do you support his cowardice like old John?
