Reunion in France (December 1942) – Wayne played Pat Talbot.Flying Tigers (October 1942) – Wayne played Captain Jim Gordan.Here is a list of some of John Wayne’s US Army movie roles: What are some of John Wayne’s WW2 movies? His resting place is the Pacific View Memorial Park Cemetery in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach. He was a guest on many radio programs and also had a program of his own “Three Sheets to the Win.” He died in 1979 because of stomach cancer at the UCLA Medical Center. He has starred in a total of 142 motion pictures and is considered one of the best male stars of classic American cinema. His real name is Marion Robert Morrison, though he is also commonly referred to as “Duke.” John Wayne was a popular American actor, best known for his Western and war movies. For example, American Author Garry Wills said in his book “John Wayne’s America”: According to, Wayne told his friends that the best thing he could do (for the war) was to star in films to support the troops. So, there was a good chance that by the time he returned from the war, his time would be over. Joining the war at this time would seriously impact his acting career, which was taking off.Ĭompared to enlisted actors (like Clark Gable & Jimmy Stewart) Wayne was not yet established. Reason Number 5: Rising Star ObstacleĪfter his role in “Stagecoach” (1939), Wayne was on his way to becoming an A-list actor. After all, they say, love makes you blind (and possibly in Wayne’s case, a draft dodger too). With that said, it is plausible that he did not want to enter service for fear of losing his mistress. Throughout his 3 year affair with her, many asserted that she was an extreme distraction to him.Īccording to author Marc Elliot, for instance: He became involved with Marlene Dietrich on the “Seven Sinners” set. Many people believe Marlene Dietrich was the “culprit” behind John Wayne’s WW2 dodging behavior. Some sources claimed that she neglected it, while some contended that she withheld it intentionally because she and the children were still relying on Wayne’s star power to live comfortably. It was believed that the required papers for his enlistment were processed but mistakenly sent to his ex-wife’s house and not his. Reason Number 3: Displaced Paperworkĭisplaced paperwork is another possible reason why John Wayne did not serve in WWII. As an actor, Wayne qualified as a “2-A” registrant in a non-agricultural occupation. So, it was no surprise that they did not want to ‘“lose” him to the war. After his “Stagecoach” role, Wayne was the only A-list actor at Republic Pictures. Republic Pictures, when Wayne was eligible to enlist, filed a “2-A” deferment to keep him in their studio. “2-A” is another classification with grounds for deferment. John Wayne was considered one of these 3-A registrants because he had a wife and 4 kids to provide for. Its official name is “Hardship Deferment.” It applies to registrants whose commitment to service can burden (cause hardship for) their families. “3-A” is one of the classifications that allowed the registrant to defer service. It is speculated that John Wayne did not serve in WWII because he was classified as “3-A” when he did his part in registering with Selective Service. John Wayne Draft Dodger? – 5 Potential Reasons to Why Are there other actors who didn’t serve in ww2?
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