03 June 2015

Military service you might not expect

Serving in the military is a great honor, but it is also a very trying and rigorous experience. You might not expect some of Hollywood's elite to have served in the military, but these stars did:


1. Drew Carey
Carey left Kent State University in 1980, and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve.

2. Elvis Presley
Elvis was promoted to acting sergeant in 1960, and earned three stripes.


3. Bea Arthur
The famous Golden Girl served as a Marine from 1943 to 1945. However, inexplicably, Arthur denied her military stint until her death in 2009.


4. Mel Brooks
Brooks was drafted into the military during World War Two while he was in college. He served as a corporal in the combat engineers, where he diffused land mines.


5. Tony Bennett
In November of 1944, this legendary singer was drafted. It was the end of World War Two, and he returned to the United States in 1946.


6. Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix spent a little time as an enlisted man in the Army before he became a guitar hero. He was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.


7. Hugh Hefner
Hefner enlisted in the Army as an infantry clerk and won a sharpshooter badge in basic training, before becoming the ultimate playboy.


8. Clint Eastwood
The famous actor-turned-director was drafted by the Army during the Korean War.


9. Dr. Ruth Westheimer
The world's most famous sex doctor may appear a small, old woman now but, back in the day, she served as a trained sniper in the Haganah, an underground Jewish military organization in Israel. She says that she can still fieldstrip a Sten submachine gun in a minute, blindfolded, to this day!


10. Bill Cosby
Cosby dropped out of high school to join the Navy. During his time in the military he worked as a medical aid on ships and in military hospitals. In addition, he was also a member of the Navy's track team. Bill Cosby received his high school diploma while he was in the service.


11. Morgan Freeman
The velvet-voiced star actually turned down a drama scholarship in 1955 to pursue another dream: becoming an Air Force pilot. Despite his initial interest in flying, when he actually first sat in a cockpit, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was sitting in a bomb. He quickly quit the service and pursued dramatic arts instead.


12. Chuck Norris
Norris was named the Air Force's Veteran of the Year in 2014.


13. Ice-T
You might know Ice T now as an actor on Law & Order: SVU but, before he landed that gig, he was best known for his anti-authority raps. Despite that, he joined the Army for four years in the early 1980s to support his daughter and girlfriend.


14. Mickey Rooney
Rooney joined the military in 1944 and served for twenty months until the end of World War Two, helping entertain troops in America and Europe.


15. Johnny Carson
Carson was in the Navy after World War Two and spent his time decoding encrypted messages before becoming a celebrity.


16. Alan Alda
In M*A*S*H, Alda played his role brilliantly. Perhaps that's because he had past experience in the Army, having joined the Reserves after he graduated college.


17. Henry Fonda
Fonda enlisted and served for three years in the Navy in World War Two. He was awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation and the Bronze Star.


18. Bob Barker
The host of The Price Is Right worked in the broadcasting and television show hosting industry for longer than almost anyone else. Before getting famous, however, he was a fighter pilot in the Navy during World War Two.


19. Clark Gable
Gable served as a gunnery instructor in the Air Force.

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