Remember These Fighting, WWII, Hollywood Idols? “Hollywood’s greatest–Compare them to today’s simpletons.”

Jeffrey A. Friedberg

Brigadier, and Then Major-General James Stewart

• . . . George Gobel comedian taught fighter pilots, I believe it was in Oklahoma. Johnny Carson made a big deal about it once on the Tonight Show, to which George said, “The Japs didn’t get past us!”
• Sterling Hayden, US Marines and OSS. Smuggled guns into Yugoslavia and parachuted into Croatia.
• James Stewart, US Army Air Corps. Bomber pilot who rose to the rank of General.
• Ernest Borgnine, US Navy. Gunners Mate 1c, destroyer USS Lamberton.
• Ed McMahon, US Marines. Fighter Pilot. (Flew OE-1 Bird Dogs over Korea as well.)
• Telly Savalas, US Army.
• Walter Matthau, US Army Air Corps., B-24 Radioman/Gunner and cryptographer.
• Steve Forrest, US Army. Wounded, Battle of the Bulge.
• Jonathan Winters, USMC. Battleship USS Wisconsin and Carrier USS Bon Homme Richard. Anti-aircraft gunner, Battle of Okinawa.
• Paul Newman, US Navy Rear seat gunner/radioman, torpedo bombers of USS Bunker Hill.
• Kirk Douglas, US Navy. Sub-chaser in the Pacific. Wounded in action and medically discharged.
• Robert Mitchum, US Army.
• Dale Robertson, US Army. Tank Commander in North Africa under Patton. Wounded twice. Battlefield Commission.
• Henry Fonda, US Navy. Destroyer USS Satterlee.
• John Carroll, US Army Air Corps. Pilot in North Africa. Broke his back in a crash.
• Lee Marvin US Marines. Sniper. Wounded in action on Saipan. Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Sec. 7A next to Greg Boyington and Joe Louis.
• Art Carney, US Army. Wounded on Normandy Beach, D-Day. Limped for the rest of his life.  

•  Raymond Burr, US Navy. Shot in the stomach on Okinawa and medically discharged.
• Eddie Albert, US Coast Guard. Bronze Star with Combat V for saving several Marines under heavy fire as pilot of a landing craft during the invasion of Tarawa.
• Charles Durning. US Army. Landed at Normandy on D-Day. Shot multiple times. Awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Survived Malmedy Massacre.
• Don Adams. US Marines. Wounded on Guadalcanal, then served as a Drill Instructor.