Share and Follow
With a vast majority of countries involved in a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, World War II affected everyone with millions of fatalities that changed the world forever. The deadliest conflict saw significant countries, including the UK, Europe, Japan, and America, fighting for their lives amidst starvation, diseases, and genocide. The war began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland under Adolf Hitler’s rule. These spheres of influence led the world to create allies and join forces to come together.
The United States was at its best with the preparation to fight a war they didn’t start. Along with preparing resources and getting funding from the privileged, the nation did not hesitate to draft celebrities into fighting for the country. Let’s look at the famous actors who served in World War II.
10/10 Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood was an athlete from a young age and a proficient basketball player and swimmer in his high school. He was sent for Basic Training in California after being drafted. He served in the army and was sent to Korea after the end of his training. After his services, Eastwood was honorably discharged in 1953 before he landed a film contract with Universal Studios.
9/10 Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley had become a rock-and-roll legend when he was enlisted to serve in the United States Army. The singer was offered a chance to be drafted into Special Services to entertain the soldiers and live in private quarters, and he served as a regular soldier, which helped him earn respect globally. He served for two years, from 1958 to 1960.
8/10 Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks studied psychology in college when he was drafted during World War II. He served as a Corporal Engineer in the 1104 Engineer Combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division. Along with fighting the Battle of the Bulge, his job role consisted of defusing landmines. He used comedy as a troupe during his time in the war and later made films in the same genre.
7/10 Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was only ten years old when World War II began. After her parents separated, she moved to England, where she trained to be a ballerina. As a teenager, she carried secret messages and food for the Allied Pilots who worked as an undercover spy. She went on to make a Hollywood debut and is considered one of the most celebrated actresses.
6/10 Jimmy Stewart
Jimmy Stewart had many family members who served in the military, including his grandfathers, who fought for the country during the Civil War. He left his movie career and began a 27-year career in the Army and Air Force. He trained in New Mexico and was sent as a bomber in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Read Related Also: Rihanna’s Best Motherhood Quotes Since Giving Birth
5/10 Paul Newman
Paul Newman has lived an extraordinary life, and he released a posthumous memoir about his life with details about his time during the war. As Newman was colorblind, he failed the V12 Pilot Program in the Navy, so he was stationed as a radioman and rear gunner in Hawaii. As the actor was Jewish, he was called many anti-semitic slurs, which caused him to get into a brawl.
4/10 Kirk Douglas
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kirk Douglas enlisted in the Navy after changing his name from Issur Danielovitch Demsky. He didn’t qualify to become an army pilot after failing the dexterity test. Still, he served as a midshipman, wherein he suffered injuries after a fellow shipman accidentally launched a live ashcan.
3/10 Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman got his Hollywood break at 49, and while he had been interested in acting from a young age, he was particularly drawn to war films that featured fighter pilots and planes. He turned down a college scholarship to enlist in the Air Force, where he worked as a radar repairman. Freeman had a desk job for one year before he could apply for a pilot’s slot.
2/10 Clark Gable
Clark Gable was Hollywood’s leading man in the 1930s, and early 1940s with the hit releases and his Academy Award win for It Happened One Night. During the war, Gable and his wife Carole Lombard aided war efforts, but his wife died in a plane crash during one of the flights. Distraught after her death, he enlisted in the US Air Army Forces and took the work as an aerial gunner.
1/10 Bea Arthur
Bea Arthur may be best known for starring as one of the infamous Golden Girls and her Broadway performances, but very few people know that the legendary actress was also a part of the army during the Second World War. She enlisted in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve and was promoted to a private first class officer within a few years. She rose to the ranks as a staff sergeant before her services ended in 1945.
Other notable actors who served in World War Two include David Niven, Hugh Hefner, Bob Barker, Leslie Howard, and James Doohan. While some actors gave up their flourishing movie careers to serve their nations, others worked for the country before entering Hollywood and became legends with their storied past.
Sources: Military, NY Post, Navy Times, Rerservational Guard
