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War Veterans and Celebrities Too.

S

Sheffield Spur

Øyvind Leonhardsen
Celebrities With a Service Record.

Following markysimmos excellent thread on D Day, and the people who got off their arse to serve their country when it needed it, it occurred to me that not all of those who took two steps forward were Joe Average. There are quite a lot of VIP/celebrity people over the years who actually did serve in the military in time of war. I don't doubt that this won't apply to todays plastic and throwaway, 5 minute wonder wannabees on any of Cowell's dreadful programmes, or similar. Britains Got Talent? We do indeed, and its serving in Afghanistan.

These are from memory, and I havn't Googled them.

James Stewart. Hollywood actor. Served as a bomber leader in WW2. In England. Pilot. Flew combat missions in charge of a whole squadron.

David Niven. Actor. Served in the British army in WW2. An active role. Commandos?

Richard Todd. Actor. Served in the British army in WW2. Was in 6th Airborne and flew in gliders to attack Pegasus bridge. First action at D Day. Remarkably, he was in The Longest Day film on D Day, and played his opposite number officer in that action! Plus Gibson in The Dambusters.

Jimmy Edwards. Actor. Famous for 'Whacko!' A DC3 Dakota pilot in the RAF and badly injured when shot down at Arnhem.

Raymond Baxter. TV Presenter. In Tomorrows World, famously. Also a Spitfire pilot in WW2. Latter part of the war.

Dirk Bogarde. Actor. In intelligence in the army in WW2. Photo interpretation. First into Belsen?

Hughie Green. TV presenter. Famous for Opportunity Knocks. WW2 ferry pilot. Including flying boats.

Bert Trautmann. Goalkeeper. Man. City. Paratrooper in the German army in WW2.

Anyone got any more?
 
James Blunt was a bad ass military leader. He could break you while eating breakfast.

Yes - the guy who wings "You're Beautiful"
 
Denholm Elliot (he of Egg Nog fame in Trading Places) was a POW from 1942 onwards having flown in Bomber Command.

Michael Caine fought in the Korean War

Charles Bronson won a Purple heart as a tail gunner in B-29s in the Pacific War...


Pretty sure that Henry Fonda fought too
 
I have cheated on this one.... but Donald Pleasance During World War II Pleasence was initially a conscientious objector, but later changed his stance and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force, serving with 166 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command. His Avro Lancaster was shot down on 31 August 1944, during a raid on Agenville. He was taken prisoner and placed in a German prisoner-of-war camp, where he produced and acted in plays. He would later play Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape.
 
inkpenspur said:
Denholm Elliot (he of Egg Nog fame in Trading Places) was a POW from 1942 onwards having flown in Bomber Command.

Michael Caine fought in the Korean War

Charles Bronson won a Purple heart as a tail gunner in B-29s in the Pacific War...


Pretty sure that Henry Fonda fought too
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I certainly didn't know that. So he must have been either very young then, or much older than I thought when making The Great Escape in the early 1960's.

JFK was a motor torpedo boat commander in the Pacific. AS per the film PT-109. A brother was killed in a mid air explosion whilst flying a B 24 Liberator bomber loaded with explosives.
 
Superted said:
James Blunt was a bad ass military leader. He could break you while eating breakfast.

Yes - the guy who wings "You're Beautiful"
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along with Shaggy (he of the boombastic bass line) who was in the Marine Corps in the First Gulf War
 
From the literary world there are a few too.... my favorite has to be Roald Dahl who flew Spitfires and became an ace in the Middle East prior to writing all those children's books and spawning the delectable Sophie Dahl as a grand-daughter, and then we have that literary giant, Spike Milligan... Adolf Hitler and my part in his downfall is actually very funny. For the youngsters on the board he was a comedian in the 50s,60s and 70s.
 
Gordinho said:
I haven@t googled it but I'm fairly sure Audie Murphy was the most decorated actor in WWII
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Audie Murphy. Played himself in the film To Hell and Back (IIRC??). The most decorated US soldier of WW2. Congressional Medal of Honour twice (Again IIRC). Was in Italy. Got into acting on the strength of his fame (can't blame him for that). Starred in many films. Shane was one. The classic cowboy film.
 
Of course Jimi Hendrix was a US paratrooper in the early 1960's. 82nd Airborne, or was it 101st? Was invalided out after injury from a bad drop/fall.
 
inkpenspur said:
From the literary world there are a few too.... my favorite has to be Roald Dahl who flew Spitfires and became an ace in the Middle East prior to writing all those children's books and spawning the delectable Sophie Dahl as a grand-daughter, and then we have that literary giant, Spike Milligan... Adolf Hitler and my part in his downfall is actually very funny. For the youngsters on the board he was a comedian in the 50s,60s and 70s.
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One of The Goons, with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. Also gunner Milligan in the western desert, WW2. The Q series were funny at the time.
 
Sheffield Spur said:
One of The Goons, with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe. Also gunner Milligan in the western desert, WW2. The Q series were funny at the time.
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Milligans books about his time serving were bloody superb!!!


English actor, now deceased I think..............Sam Cooke?
Wrote his memoirs about his time served and some of it was bloody filthy!!!!
 
Crawley said:
Milligans books about his time serving were bloody superb!!!


English actor, now deceased I think..............Sam Cooke?
Wrote his memoirs about his time served and some of it was bloody filthy!!!!
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Might have name slightly wrong there.......Google only finding a black US actor who served.........
 
Crawley said:
Milligans books about his time serving were bloody superb!!!


English actor, now deceased I think..............Sam Cooke?
Wrote his memoirs about his time served and some of it was bloody filthy!!!!
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Are you thinking of Sam Kydd? Dunstable's second most famous ex-resident (after Gary Cooper).
 
RLeeErmey.jpg


Vietnam veteran.

2 tours of Japan.

Legendary Drill Instructor.

Cool as fudge actor!
 
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