Stars! What happened

[SPEEDO]

What were the entertainers of 1943 doing 60 years ago?
(I received this from a friend...I am passing most of it on)

The Entertainers of 2003 have been in all of the news media
lately. it seems Newspaper, Television and Radio has been more
than ready to put them and their message before the public.

I would like to remind the people of what the entertainers of 1943
were doing, (60 years ago). Most of these brave men have since
passed on.

Alec Guinness (Star Wars) operated a British Royal Navy landing
craft on D-Day.

James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the
U.S. Army on D-Day.

Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was a R.A.F. pilot who
was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.

David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the
British Commandos in Normandy.

James Stewart flew 20 missions as a B-24 pilot in Europe.

Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) was a waist
gunner flying missions on a B-17 in Europe.

Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.

Earnest Borgnine was a U.S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.

Charles Durning was a U.S. Army Ranger at Normandy.

Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps.

George C. Scott was a U.S. Marine.

Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his
heroic action as a U.S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the
horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov.1943.

Brian Keith served as a Marine rear gunner in several actions
against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific.

Lee Marvin was a marine on Saipan when he was wounded.

John Russell was a Marine on Guadalcanal.

Robert Ryan was a U.S. Marine who served with the O.S.S. in
Yugoslavia.

Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was
bombed) joined the Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and
wounded Marines out of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Audie Murphy , little guy from Texas, Most Decorated serviceman of
WWII.

I wish I had room to tell you more about Actor Sterling Hayden and
an actor by the name of Peter J. Ortiz (Twelve O'clock High, Rio
Grande and The Wings of Eagles), but this would turn into a book.

There is quite a huge gap between the heroics and patriotism in
1943 and the.................... posturing of the Hollywood crowd
of today..................................

Think about this every time you are tempted to go to the movies or
go to a concert!! ......
You won't be missing much........ After all, what have they done to
enrich our society by promoting their immorality in their "work" as
well as their real lives?

~Author Unknown

[Xeroid]

I knew about James Stewart, Clark Gable, & Audie Murphy. The rest was new news to me. Interesting read!

Mike

[aldtech]

Morality is a personal issue so why don't you keep yours to yourself. If you don't like the action of the current Hollywood celebs then that’s fine, this is a free country. But when you start to label them and judge them by your standards of morality than you are no better than McCarthy was back in the 50's. We all know what a mockery of justice that was. Or is McCarthy one of your heroes?

AL

[wju425]

"Earnest Borgnine was a U.S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945"

No wonder he's good on McHale's Navy.

Interesting reading.

\o/ Billy

[Toadman]

Lighten up, aldtech. Speedo merely cut/pasted it. I see nothing about morality in the post anyhow, mainly patriotism and the kind of self-sacrifice lacking today.

[SickPup404]

Originally posted by Toadman
Lighten up, aldtech. Speedo merely cut/pasted it. I see nothing about morality in the post anyhow, mainly patriotism and the kind of self-sacrifice lacking today.

DITTO!

[SPEEDO]

aldtech

You should be thankful you live in a free country thanks to people like those mentioned in my above post.

Are you really from N.H.

[vass0922]

People have more options these days.. there's more chances for people to grow up into show business. Back in those days you worked for a living and did show business on the side and slowly made their way up. Now a 6 month old baby can do modeling in a Sears magazine and grow up doing it their entire lives.

Just because they were in the military doesn't make them any better or worse as a real person.

[daveleau]

Well, since the 60's and more recently Clinton, the military has lost the meaning it had back in those days. People were more apt to protect the country and it was seen as a great service and an honorable duty to serve. Now, many see it as something completely different. Many think that the military is a "conservative only" club or that it is a place to go if you can't get a job. While the majority of military members are conservative for a myriad of reasons, neither of the above ideas are true. Back in the 40's, the military was a way to put your career on the fast track, since society sought out military members for employment after they had finished serving. Also, at that time, the US was far from the dominant power it is today. The US was struggling to be a top power and the economic and social power of the nation was brand new. The outcome of war was far from certain in these times; again, unlike today.

Things have definitely changed and Hollywood does not look for fresh young faces who are war heroes for name recognition. Back then, the heroes of the day were not gangster rappers, drug addicts and spoiled millionaire athletes. They were the faces they saw piloting the aircraft and fighting in the trenches. Today, Hollywood looks for someone who can succeed in their trade based on talent or looks alone and not on name recognition (for the most part).

One sad point is that recently a poll was taken of graduating high school seniors across the country to see how many would look at going into the military to serve the nation. Sadly, the number who said yes was so small that it was unmeasurable by the polling statistics. Hopefully, this has changed since 9/11 and since our heroic actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. If not, then our military does not need to fear the Clintons and Gores of the world in regards to decimating downsizing of the military (the US Army went from 64 divisions of troops to 10 during the Clinton years- losing thousands of talented and devoted service members). The real downsize might come from the choice of young Americans to abstain from military service, which could lead ultimately to our demise.

[wju425]

"The real downsize might come from the choice of young Americans to abstain from military service, which could lead ultimately to our demise."

I wouldn't worry about that. They'd just bring back the draft. Anyway I love our yesteryear's star and am mighty proud of them. My dad was in the war with them and came home with them.

\o/ Billy