May 2009 ~ As You Were. . . Hollywood at War

Bill Hillman Presents
F.L.A.S.H.
Forces: Land ~ Air ~ Sea ~ Home
A MILITARY TRIBUTE WEBZINE . . . AS YOU WERE . . .
www.hillmanweb.com/flash
Compiled by Bill Hillman
Wherein we share an eclectic assortment of items gleaned from the
Internet, media and contributing readers.
Please send your ideas and contributions to the
FLASH. . . Editor and Webmaster: Bill Hillman: hillmans@wcgwave.ca

May 2009 Issue

AMERICAN & BRITISH MOVIE STARS AT WAR

GALLERY OF REAL HOLLYWOOD HEROES


	Alec Guinness (1914-2000) London, England Operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day. The Bridge Over the River Kwai ~ Star Wars Great Expectations ~ Lawrence of Arabia
	James Doohan (1920-2005) Vancouver, Canada Captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery Landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day. Star Trek TV & Films Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Fantasy Island
	Donald Pleasance (1919-1995) Nottinghamshire, England R. A. F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans. IMDB: The Great Escape ~ James Bond and Halloween films
	David Niven Sandhurst graduate - Royal Army Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy He relates many tales of his war service (including the time he lets a German general slip away) in his autobiography The Moon's a Balloon
	James Stewart Stewart entered the Army Air Force as a private. During World War II, he served as a bomber pilot leading more than 20 missions over Germany and took part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty. Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre, and seven Battle Stars during World War II. In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950s.
	Clark Gable Although he was beyond the draft age, Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers' Candidate School at Miami Beach , Fla. and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb.1943 he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook where he flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s from which he obtained the combat film footage for the movie Combat America. Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943 and was relieved from active duty as a major on June 12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age for combat.
	Charlton Heston An Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.
	Ernest Borgnine A U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.
	Charles Durning A U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart. Durning landed at Omaha Beach in the D-Day invasion. He survived the landing, but was wounded in an ambush during the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured, escaped, and narrowly missed assassination at the Malmedy Massacre. He still carries his memories and battle fatigue to this day.
	Charles Bronson An US Army Air Corps tail gunner on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.
	George C. Scott A decorated U. S. Marine.
	Eddie Albert 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. A long list of films and the Green Acres TV series.
	Brian Keith A US Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific.
	Lee Marvin A U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign where he was wounded earning the Purple Heart.
	John Russell Enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942 where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal
	Robert Ryan A U. S. Marine who served with the O. S. S. in Yugoslavia.
	Tyrone Power Joined the U.S. Marines after the Pearl Harbor attack. He served as a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
	Audie Murphy US Army - the most decorated soldier of WWII. Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with 'V', 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France), World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm. This 5'5'' tall 110-pound Texan returned from the war to star in a multitude of Western and action roles.

THE HONOUR ROLL
A
Don Adams - USMC, Contracted malaria on Guadalcanal
John Agar - US Army Air Corps, Sergeant.
Gene Autry - Flight Officer, Air Transport Command, 1942-1946
Eddie Albert - US Navy. Drove Amtracks in several Pacific invasions. He served in the landings at Saipan in 1943, where he rescued wounded and stranded Marines from the beachhead. At Tarawa, he was wounded and lost most of his hearing and earned the Bronze Star.
James Arness - US Army, Wounded at Anzio. Purple Heart and Bronze Star

B

Martin Balsam - US Army.
James Best - US Army Air Corps.
Richard Boone - US Navy.
Neville Brand - US Army.
Mel Brooks (Melvin Kaminsky) joined army in WWII and became a combat engineer. Cleared German mines after the Battle of the Bulge. He organized shows for the US troops, and when the German army began transmitting propaganda over loudspeakers Brooks is said to have replied with a version of Al Jolson's 'Toot-toot-tootsie'.
Richard Burton - RAF (1944-1947)

C
Art Carney - US Army. Carney went to Normandy in July of 1944 as a replacement to the 28th Division in position around St Lô. He was part of a 30 calibre machine gun squad. On 15 August 1944 he had just taken up his position and was hit in the right leg by mortar shrapnel. After receiving field treatment, he was sent back to Britain and then the US. He once said of his military career, "Never fired a shot and maybe never wanted to. I really cost the government money."
Julia Child served with the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) in Ceylon and China during WWII.
Jeff Chandller - US Army.
Robert Clary - In a Nazi concentration camp
Jackie Coogan - US Army Air Corps. Enlisted in Army March 1941. After Pearl Harbor, requested transfer to Air Corps as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. After graduating from Glider School, he was made a Flight Officer and volunteered for hazardous duty with the 1st Air Commando Group. In Dec. 1943, the unit was sent to India where, by using CG-4A gliders, it airlifted crack British troops under Gen. Orde Wingate during the night aerial invasion of Burma (Mar. 5, 1944), landing them in a small jungle clearing 100 miles behind Japanese lines.
Tony Curtis - US Navy joined 1943 at age 17. In Tokyo Bay he watched the surrender ceremonies from the Signal Bridge of the USS Proteus.

D
Ossie Davis - US Army
Kirk Douglas - US Navy

E

Maurice Evans was in a Special Entertainment Unit that toured the South Pacific.

F
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. - US Navy. He joined the naval reserves before the war. During the war he served on the Battleship Massachuesetts and was a Commando raider sent on several land attack missions. He retired from the reserves, years later, as a full Captain. He wrote about his war years in the book "A Hell of a War" which also covers his duties in helping organize the forerunners of today's Navy Seals.
Henry Fonda - US Navy. Bronze Star for Valor.
Glenn Ford - US Navy. In addition to his WWII service, he served in the reserves during the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. He retired as a Captain in the US Naval Reserve.

G
Frank Gorshin - US Army (Appeared in the Combat episode The Medal)
Shecky Greene - US Navy

H
Alan Hale US Coast Guard during WWII.
Sterling Hayden USMC
Jack Hawkins - Volunteered to serve in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He spent most of his military career arranging entertainment for the British forces in India
David Hedison
Audrey Hepburn, as a child she was a courier for World War II resistance fighters in Holland
Benny Hill - British Army
William Holden - US Army
J
Rick Jason - US Army Air Corps

K
Bob Keeshan - ("Captain Kangaroo") U.S. Marines, enlisted two weeks before his 18th birthday. He saw no combat because his enlistment was just two months before the bombing of Hiroshima
George Kennedy - US Army, served 16 Years
Werner Klemperer - US Army
Don Knotts - USA 1943

L
Burt Lancaster - US Army
Jack Lemmon - US Navy Reserve 1945-1946
M

Strother Martin - US Navy Swimming instructor
Patrick MacNee Royal Navy.
Steve McQueen USMC
Jan Merlin - Enlisted in US Navy April, 1942, served as a destroyer torpedoman until April 1946, honorably discharged. Played Roger Manning, Space Cadet!
Burgess Meredith - US Army Air Corps [Source: Internet Movie Database]
Gary Merrill US Army
Robert Montgomery - US Navy Reserve

O
Caroll O’Connor - Merchant Marines 1942

P

Jack Palance US Army Air Corps. 455th bomb group. Required facial reconstruction from terrible injuries received in 1943 when his B17 crash landed in Britain.
Dick Peabody - US Navy
Tyrone Power - USMC Pilot in the South Pacific.

Q
Anthony Quayle Royal Artillery

R

Jason Robards Jr - US Navy. He was a radioman on duty at Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attack. He wrote about his experiences in A Hell of a War.
Ronald Reagan - Captain, US Army Air Corps. Because of a severe hearing loss, he was not allowed any flying duties. However, he appeared in training films. Prior to the war, he was a cavalry officer in the Nebraska National Guard.
Carl Reiner Entered army In 1942 and trained as a radio operator. He later studied French on assignment at Georgetown University to become an interpreter, but became a teletype operator in the Signal Corps where, on the way to Iwo Jima from Hawaii, was assigned to Maurice Evans' Special Entertainment Unit. For 18 months, he toured the South Pacific as a comedian in GI reviews.
Don Rickles - US Navy. Destroyer duty. He has said of one deployment, "It was so hot and humid, the crew rotted."
Andy Rooney - Sergeant, US Army. Early in war served with artillery regiment assigned to England. Joined Stars And Stripes in London. In 1943, Rooney is among first correspondents allowed aboard B-17 bombers attacking Germany. He wrote of his war experiences in the book My War.
Mickey Rooney - US Army. PFC. Served 21 months with a unit that entertained the troops

S
Albert Salmi - US Army.
Charles Schultz (cartoonist) - US Army. Staff sergeant and leader of machine gun squad.
Rod Serling - US Army paratroopers [Source: Internet Movie Database]
Robert Stack - US Navy. Because of his expertise as an Olympic champion skeet shooter, he was assigned to teach anti-aircraft gunnery.
Rod Stieger - Torpedoman, US Navy. Falsified his age to enlist at 16 [Source: A&E's biography]

W
Judge Wapner of The People's Court was saved from a sniper's bullet when it lodged in a can of tuna he was carrying while an Army officer in the Pacific
Eli Wallach Sergeant US Army Medical Corps as an admin clerk.
Jack Warden Served in the 101st Airborne during WWII.
James Whitmore - USMC. WWII interrupted his pre-law studies at Yale. He received his degree while at boot camp and served as an officer in the Marine Corps.

Actors who served during other times:
Alan Bates - Royal Air Force
Humphrey Bogart - US Navy, wounded in World War One, tried to enlist in WWII but was turned down because of his age.
Michael Caine - Royal Fusiliers
Sean Connery - Royal Navy

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