John Wayne Fact, Fiction, Sacrilege?

ALange · February 3, 2009

I know this sounds like treason, but the facts say the Duke used all the Hollywood clout he could muster to stay out of the army. What's up with that?

gave20 · February 3, 2009

Dear Cecil:

In your book The Straight Dope you were asked whether John Wayne had ever served in the military. You said no--that though Wayne as a youth had wanted to become a naval officer, "during World War II, he was rejected for military service." However, it may be more interesting than that. According to a recent Wayne bio, for all his vaunted patriotism, Wayne may actually have tried to stay out of the service.

— Virgiejo, via AOL

Cecil replies:

John Wayne, draft dodger? Oh, what delicious (if cheap) irony! But that judgment is a little harsh. As Garry Wills tells the story in his book John Wayne's America: The Politics of Celebrity (1997), the Duke faced a tough choice at the outset of World War II. If he wimped out, don't be so sure a lot of us wouldn't have done the same.

At the time of Pearl Harbor, Wayne was 34 years old. His marriage was on the rocks but he still had four kids to support. His career was taking off, in large part on the strength of his work in the classic western Stagecoach (1939). But he wasn't rich. Should he chuck it all and enlist? Many of Hollywood's big names, such as Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and Clark Gable, did just that. (Fonda, Wills points out, was 37 at the time and had a wife and three kids.) But these were established stars. Wayne knew that if he took a few years off for military service, there was a good chance that by the time he got back he'd be over the hill.

Besides, he specialized in the kind of movies a nation at war wanted to see, in which a rugged American hero overcame great odds. Recognizing that Hollywood was an important part of the war effort, Washington had told California draft boards to go easy on actors. Perhaps rationalizing that he could do more good at home, Wayne obtained 3-A status, "deferred for [family] dependency reasons." He told friends he'd enlist after he made just one or two more movies.

The real question is why he never did so. Wayne cranked out thirteen movies during the war, many with war-related themes. Most of the films were enormously successful and within a short time the Duke was one of America's most popular stars. His bankability now firmly established, he could have joined the military, secure in the knowledge that Hollywood would welcome him back later. He even made a half-hearted effort to sign up, sending in the paperwork to enlist in the naval photography unit commanded by a good friend, director John Ford.

But he didn't follow through. Nobody really knows why; Wayne didn't like to talk about it. A guy who prided himself on doing his own stunts, he doesn't seem to have lacked physical courage. One suspects he just found it was a lot more fun being a Hollywood hero than the real kind. Many movie star-soldiers had enlisted in the first flush of patriotism after Pearl Harbor. As the war ground on, slogging it out in the trenches seemed a lot less exciting. The movies, on the other hand, had put Wayne well on the way to becoming a legend. "Wayne increasingly came to embody the American fighting man," Wills writes. In late 1943 and early 1944 he entertained the troops in the Pacific theater as part of a USO tour. An intelligence bigshot asked him to give his impression of Douglas MacArthur. He was fawned over by the press when he got back. Meanwhile, he was having a torrid affair with a beautiful Mexican woman. How could military service compare with that?

In 1944, Wayne received a 2-A classification, "deferred in support of [the] national . . . interest." A month later the Selective Service decided to revoke many previous deferments and reclassified him 1-A. But Wayne's studio appealed and got his 2-A status reinstated until after the war ended.

People who knew Wayne say he felt bad about not having served. (During the war he'd gotten into a few fights with servicemen who wondered why he wasn't in uniform.) Some think his guilty conscience was one reason he became such a superpatriot later. The fact remains that the man who came to symbolize American patriotism and pride had a chance to do more than just act the part, and he let it pass.

— Cecil Adams

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1...-a-draft-dodger

Wingnut · February 3, 2009

I think he did plenty of good right where he was.

gave20 · February 3, 2009

Exactly, WW II was unlike any other war, everyone fought whether at home or abroad.

Wingnut · February 3, 2009

I think he did plenty of good right where he was.

I should also add to this...I've never really been a fan of his movies. BUT...I'm in the vast, vast minority...By and large, I think he did the country a better service by doing exactly what he did. His personal reasons for his actions will probably never be known and frankly, I don't care. Patriotism does not require service in uniform.

gave20 · February 3, 2009

I should also add to this...I've never really been a fan of his movies.

Is this even humanly possible? I'm not gay but I would be screaming like a girl at a backstreet boy concert if I would have had the chance to meet him.

DofD · February 3, 2009

I do enjoy his movies, some more than others. But I agree, I think he did his country a greater service by making the movies he did than he could have fighting over seas. During dark times and war people need people that can make positive influences on moral, which he did.

Wingnut · February 3, 2009

I should also add to this...I've never really been a fan of his movies.

Is this even humanly possible? I'm not gay but I would be screaming like a girl at a backstreet boy concert if I would have had the chance to meet him.

Sure it is. I'm pretty sure the first movie of his I ever saw was "The Quiet Man"...Where they basically did a 180 degree character swap and turned him into the complete opposite type of person as the book. That pissed me off and I never liked him after that.

Irrational? Sure. Does it mean he was a bad actor? Of course not. Hell, look at the "Whoah" man himself...Keanu Reeves. Seems about as sharp as a bowling ball, but I'm the first to admit that he's made some highly entertaining movies. I feel the same way about John Wayne...I don't like him much, but I know that he did great things for cinema. Not that I'm putting the two of them in the same class, but it illustrates my point.

Schmids5.3l · February 3, 2009

I remember his movie McLintock pretty good. I used to watch his Westerns all the time at my grand parents when I was growing up. I don't care if he did dodge the draft, and don't care if anyone dodges any draft.

General Lee 01 · February 4, 2009

I kinda agree with Sam in the context of of what Mike is saying. Look at Lee Greenwood, I don't ever hear about anybody trashin' his name (maybe I haven't done enough listenin' though) and it's been well known of his draft-dodgeage for 10 or so years (if not more). "Proud to be an American" is still a song that comes up alot when one thinks "Patriotism".

Has Toby Keith ever done any Service in the Military? None that I'm aware of. (someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

The way I see it, John Wayne did his part, IMO.

Wingnut · February 4, 2009

I kinda agree with Sam in the context of of what Mike is saying. Look at Lee Greenwood, I don't ever hear about anybody trashin' his name (maybe I haven't done enough listenin' though) and it's been well known of his draft-dodgeage for 10 or so years (if not more). "Proud to be an American" is still a song that comes up alot when one thinks "Patriotism".

Has Toby Keith ever done any Service in the Military? None that I'm aware of. (someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

The way I see it, John Wayne did his part, IMO.

I know Toby Keith...He didn't serve. He played football (made it to semi-pro) for a bit...But no military.

General Lee 01 · February 4, 2009

Thanks Mike. You go to High School with him or something?

"What's Toby Keith gotta do with this?"

The fact remains that the man who came to symbolize American patriotism and pride had a chance to do more than just act the part, and he let it pass.

EVERYBODY has a chance to do the part.

Wingnut · February 4, 2009

Thanks Mike. You go to High School with him or something?

"What's Toby Keith gotta do with this?"

The fact remains that the man who came to symbolize American patriotism and pride had a chance to do more than just act the part, and he let it pass.

EVERYBODY has a chance to do the part.

We went to the same high school. He's like 9 or 10 years older though. BUT...I also lived like 1/4 mile from him. Our folks knew each other and his wife is now great friends with my aunt. I've talked to him a few times, but I doubt he'd remember me without some prodding.

Not that I'd want to talk to him though.