40 Famous People You Didn’t Know Were in the Military

By Brian VanHooker and Isadora Baum
https://www.menshealth.com/
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News

When you think about famous veterans, you probably think of Jack Churchill, Alvin York, Audie Murphy, or George S. Patton. But there are a few others who are arguably just as famous. Like Jimi Hendrix, Ice-T, and Bob Ross. Their fame might have come from their post-military careers, but they wore the uniforms and served their country just the same. Here are 40 famous people you might not have known are veterans.

1

James Doohan

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At the beginning of World Ward II, James Doohan—Star Trek’s Scotty—enrolled in the Royal Canadian Artillery. On D-Day, he led troops through the Invasion of Normandy. After his unit had secured their position for the night, Doohan was crossing between command posts when a nervous Canadian gunman saw him, mistook him for the enemy, and shot him six times with a Bren Gun. Doohan got four in the leg, lost half his middle finger, and would have taken a bullet in the chest, if it hadn’t been stopped by a silver cigarette case given to him by his brother.

2

Ice-T

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Ice-T joined the U.S. Army and served four years in the 25th Infantry. He and some friends were charged with stealing a rug, and he deserted while awaiting a hearing. After the rug was recovered, he returned and received a non-judicial punishment. It was in the Army that Ice-T managed to make a little extra money and afford some musical equipment, beginning his rap career.

3

Don Knotts

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There is a bizarre urban myth that claims the lovable, wide-eyed actor was once a Marine Corps Drill Instructor. Though this is false, Knotts was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943, but saw no combat. He was chosen for special services to entertain troops as a ventriloquist.

4

Bob Ross

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The famous TV painter spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and retired with the rank of Master Sergeant. The soft-spoken host of The Joy of Painting told the Orlando Sentinel: “I was the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work. The job requires you to be a mean, tough person. And I was fed up with it.”

5

Buster Keaton

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The silent movie comedian was drafted into the Army during the first World War. The sleeping conditions in France were not ideal. “We slept in circular tents,” he recalled in his book, My Wonderful World of Slapstick. “Our feet in the center and our heads close to the drafts from the great outdoors.” Acccording to Keaton, he soon “developed a cold which imperiled my hearing.” He would remain deaf in one ear for the rest of his life.

6

Morgan Freeman

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Morgan Freeman declined a partial drama scholarship and joined the Air Force in 1955. He would serve four years as a radar technician, and left the service in 1959. “I took to it immediately,” he told Interview magazine. “I did three years, eight months, and ten days in all, but it took me a year and a half to get disabused of my romantic notions about it.”

7

Dr. Ruth

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As a teenager in Israel, Dr. Rugh trained as a sniper. She told The New Yorker she never had to put her skills to use: “I have no idea what the experience would be, if I had to show it. But I was a very good sniper.”

8

Ted Williams

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During World War II, “Teddy Ballgame” left his burgeoning baseball career to join the Navy. He eventually became a fighter pilot in the Marines. “I was no hero,” he told the MLB (via MOAA.com) of his service. “There were maybe 75 pilots in our two squadrons, and 99 percent of them did a better job than I did.”

9

Don Rickles

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After graduating from high school in Queens, Don Rickles took a train to Grand Central and enrolled in the Navy. He tried to get enlisted as an entertainer, but was denied, and became a Seaman First Class and served for two years on the USS Cyrene. When asked by The New York Times if he cried at the end of Toy Story 3, he said, “I cried when they took me in the Navy. That’s the last time I cried. Did I cry? Give me a break.”

10

MC Hammer

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After his attempt at a baseball career didn’t take off, Stanley Kirk Burrell—who would later become rapping sensation MC Hammer—joined the Navy and served three years as a Store Keeper.

11

Jimmy Stewart

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When Jimmy Stewart was drafted during World War II, he was originally rejected for being underweight. After packing on a few pounds, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was able to retake the tests. Due to his fame, he was put in behind-the-lines assignments until he appealed to his commanding officer, and was eventually assigned to a unit overseas. He rose quickly in the ranks, eventually flying lead in a bombardment squadron in 1943. Later, in the Army Reserves, he participated in a bombing mission in the Vietnam War. He didn’t officially retire from the Army until 1968, when he was promoted to a Two-Star General.

12

Mel Brooks

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During WWII, Brooks joined the Army Corps of Engineers where his tasks included deactivating enemy land mines. He even saw combat, occasionally acting as infantry. According to legend, following the Battle of the Bulge, the Nazis were blasting Axis propaganda, and Brooks replied by setting up his own speakers and giving his rendition of Al Jolson’s “Toot Toot Tootsie.”

13

Charles Bronson

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In 1943, Charles Bronson enlisted in the Army Air Corps and became a tail gunner on a B-29. Upon discharge, he received a purple heart for sustaining an injury. He began studying acting with money from the GI Bill.

14

Jimi Hendrix

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When a young Jimi Hendrix was busted in 1961 for driving a stolen car, he was given the choice of prison or the U.S. Army. So he enlisted and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. Though he was enrolled for three years, he was given an honorable discharge after one year for an ankle injury.

15

Hugh Hefner

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In 1944, Hugh Hefner enlisted in the U.S. Army as an infantry clerk. He earned a sharpshooter badge, and got through “Killer College,” where troops performed maneuvers while throwing grenades. As a preview of things to come, while in the Army, Hefner contributed cartoons to an Army newsletter.

16

Drew Carey

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In 1981, Drew Carey joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve, and it was during his time there where he actually began working on stand-up comedy. “While in the Marine Reserves, I was looking for a way to make some more money, and it was suggested that I try using my jokes,” he told Military.com.

17

Adam Driver

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Driver joined the Armed forced after 9/11, but he was medically discharged after a few years when he broke his sternum on a mountain bike. “To not get to go with that group of people I had been training with was…painful,” he told GQ.

18

Bea Arthur

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Arthur actress served in the Marine Corps for 30 months as a typist and truck driver. Why did she join at age 21? In a letter included in her Marine personnel file, she said she heard that “enlistments for women in the Marines were open, so decided the only thing to do was to join.”

19

Chuck Norris

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Chuck Norris joined the United States Air Force in 1958, and served as an Air Policeman in South Korea. That’s also where we mastered other crafts. Norris reveals in The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book that he had black belt in Tang Soo Do and a brown belt in judo by the time he finished.

20

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At the age of 20 in 1943, Carson joined the U.S. Navy as an apprentice shipman. He would eventually serve as a midshipman to the USS Pennsylvania in the Pacific Ocean. A few years later, he briefly served as a communications officer tasked with decoding encrypted messages.