Top 10 Celebrity Veterans
Celebrity Veterans – After serving in the military, there is no one best approach to succeed. Veterans not only receive the education and training benefits they enlist for but also a life-changing experience.
With the fortitude and dedication instilled in veterans throughout their service, these advantages and opportunities can lead to practically anything.
Without their military service, some of the veterans on this list might not have evolved into the people they are or were. Some of them discovered that the military wasn’t what they had anticipated. We are all better off because of how their service changed them all.
Charles Carlin
“I am therefore ambivalent. I oppose militaries given what they do. The Air Force, however, differed from the military in many ways. They bombarded people with explosives, but they also had a golf course.”
The comedian who came up with “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” was always against the status quo.
So perhaps it is not strange that someone like George Carlin was seen as an “unproductive airman” while serving in the American military. More surprisingly, his decision to enlist in the military at all seems likely.
To qualify for the GI Bill advantages and attend broadcasting school, Carlin dropped out of high school in 1954 and enlisted in the Air Force.
He completed his radar technician training at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, where he was assigned. He wasn’t content to just carry out his duties as an Air Force employee.
He worked as a disc jockey at the adjacent Shreveport, Louisiana, AM radio station KJOE, which aired Top 40 music. Carlin began broadcasting at the age of 18.
He didn’t appear to be at all content to do his Air Force duties. Throughout his career, Carlin was three times court-martialed before receiving a general discharge.
He was happy to have avoided a dishonorable discharge, but Carlin attributes his self-assurance to his early work on radio.
He spent a few years working in broadcast radio before relocating to California, where he attained long-lasting popularity. He appeared on Los Angeles television three years after being discharged.
He became well-known because of his many appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Jack Paar. By the 1970s, he had abandoned the tidy image of conventional comics and started to don his distinctive beard and long hair.
Stephen McQueen
“Laying in the sun and watching the females go by was all very enjoyable, but one day I became bored with hanging there and went and joined the Marines.”
Early on, Steve McQueen established himself as the “King of Cool.” He was the love child of a stunt pilot and an accused alcoholic prostitute.
His upbringing, which involved periods of homelessness and time spent in a juvenile reformatory, helped him develop his rebellious persona.
He worked several jobs before joining the Marines in 1947, one of which was manning the front door of a brothel in the Dominican Republic.
He served in an armored regiment after being elevated to private first class. McQueen saw some success, receiving six promotions and seven downgrades to the rank of private.
When he allowed a weekend to stretch into a two-week tryst with his lover, his rebellious tendencies reached a boiling point.
He was captured by shore patrol, but he resisted capture and was imprisoned for 41 days, the first 21 of which he spent subsisting on bread and water.
McQueen practically set the ship straight after his time in the brig. His unit was engaged in a training exercise in the Arctic when it went wrong.
When the ship hit a sandbank and several tanks and their personnel was thrown into the water, McQueen, his unit, and their tanks were on board. Five guys were saved by McQueen after several more drowned inside their tanks.
McQueen was selected for the Honor Guard guarding President Harry Truman’s boat because of his bravery. McQueen served in the Corps until his honorable discharge in 1950.
“I could handle the discipline I received from the Marines. When I finally left, I was able to handle things on a more grounded level. Overall, despite my issues, I enjoyed my time serving in the Marines “stated McQueen.
After leaving the Marines, McQueen paid for his acting classes at Sanford Meisner’s Neighborhood Playhouse with money from the GI Bill. He had a successful career. McQueen played a variety of roles and remained well-known until his passing in 1980. (Celebrity Veterans)
Ice-T.
“I visited an enlistment office after having my daughter because I thought, “Man, I’m going to jail; I’ve got to do something.” Before you know it, I’ve spent four years as an infantryman in the military.”
Actor and musician Ice-T is one of those persons who joined the military for strictly practical reasons. Tracy Lauren Marrow had a difficult background in South Los Angeles and was fighting to maintain his girlfriend and daughter.
Because of his talent for performing books written by a well-known pimp dubbed Iceberg Slim, he eventually gained the moniker Ice-T.
For the money, he enlisted in the Army. He would benefit from his performing skills in the coming years as well.
He served in Hawaii’s 25th Infantry Division for four years. He was a member of a group that stole an infantry rug early in his service and then ran away.
Once the rug was located after a month, Ice-T returned and was given a non-judicial sentence, allowing him to finish Advanced Infantry Training. However, he did receive his $2,500 sign-on incentive.
Ice-T served as a squad leader at Schofield Barracks while stationed in Hawaii. A civilian named Mac whom he met there was impressed by his readings of Iceberg Slim’s novels.
He discovered that the citizen was also a pimp. He learned how to be a pimp from Mac when he was still in the service.
Ice-T bought speakers, turntables, a mixer, and stereo equipment using the proceeds from his illegal side business. He started rhyming and performing in that way.
A sergeant once admitted to Ice-T that the reason he was in the Army was that he couldn’t make it in the civilian world on his own.
After quitting the Army in 1979, Ice-T nearly proved him wrong when he turned into a jewel thief and bank robber.
Following the robbery convictions of two of his associates, Ice-T legally changed his name and started working as a DJ and performer. He made his debut single, “Cold Wind Madness,” in 1983, and it was an underground hit. (Celebrity Veterans)
Bogart, Humphrey
“Bogie” was a famous New York City illustrator’s son and the descendant of a family that can be traced back to the Mayflower.
Humphrey Bogart was educated at boarding institutions and prestigious private schools, and when it came time for college, Yale was the school of choice.
However, when World War I was raging in Europe, Bogart rejected his upbringing and attended a different school before dropping out and enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1918.
While serving in the Navy, it was rumored that his ship, the USS Leviathan, was shelled while transporting troops, giving him his distinctive scar and lisp. (Celebrity Veterans)
After the Armistice in November 1918, Bogart spent a significant amount of time at sea while he worked on a troopship returning American soldiers to their homes. He was released from service as a third-class boatswain’s mate in June 1919.
When he got back home, he saw that his family’s enormous wealth was losing money owing to poor investments.
He started working at several jobs on his own and eventually enlisted in the Coast Guard Reserve. Bogart immediately began acting on Broadway after taking one of those positions as a stage manager in the New World Films office.
He eventually found his way onto the big screen through a childhood buddy, and the tough-guy heroes and gangster parts he played there served as a compass for the remainder of his career.
He appeared in great movies like “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca,” and his performance in “The African Queen” earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. (Celebrity Veterans)
Morgan Freeman
“To the Air Force, I went. When I got there, I embraced it right away. I completed the task in three years, eight months, and ten days overall, but it took me a year and a half to lose my romantic perception of it.”
Even if it means leaving the service, there are instances when serving in the military might help you figure out what you want to do with your life. (Celebrity Veterans)
Young and gifted Morgan Freeman joined the U.S. Air Force in 1955 instead of receiving a theater scholarship to Jackson State University in Mississippi because he was so fascinated by the prospect of flying.
He eventually had the opportunity to train to become a fighter pilot, but as soon as he entered the cockpit of what he had imagined would be his ideal position, he felt as though he was “sitting in the nose of a bomb,” as he told AARP magazine. “I experienced this distinct epiphany.
You are in love with the concept of this, not with the actual thing.” Freeman departed the Air Force in 1959 without second-guessing his gut feeling.
Before becoming famous on television in the serial opera “Another World” and the enduring children’s program “The Electric Company,” Freeman spent more than 20 years performing on stage.
Freeman later appeared in movies including “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Seven,” and “Unforgiven” in both important supporting and starring roles. (Celebrity Veterans)
Chuck Norris
“Congress must receive Chuck Norris’ approval before the president of the United States may declare war.”
Carlos Ray Norris had to get some knowledge before he could develop into Chuck Norris. He did it in the military, like many of us who are reading this.
When Norris enlisted in the Air Force, he quickly discovered that to fulfill his role as a security guard, he would require a weapon.
His duties when stationed in Korea included removing boisterous, inebriated service personnel from the bars close to Osan Air Base.
He turned to the local martial arts of taekwondo and tang soo do for assistance when he realized that he couldn’t complete the task physically. (Celebrity Veterans)
Now that everyone is aware of it, Norris doesn’t mess around. He would not only master the art of throwing inebriates, but he would also become the first Westerner to receive a taekwondo eighth-degree black belt.
He held the title of middleweight world karate champion for six years and was named “Fighter of the Year” by “Black Belt” magazine in 1969.
He established 32 martial arts schools and, of course, taught karate to Steve McQueen, an actor, and fellow veteran.
Norris was inspired by McQueen to pursue acting, and after becoming well-known as Bruce Lee’s rival in “Way of the Dragon,” he went on to star in movies including “Good Guys Wear Black,” “Delta Force,” and “Missing in Action.” He was a cast member of the enduring television series “Walker, Texas Ranger.”
Norris has utilized his success to support the military community by speaking out for hospitalized veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Norris was elevated to the rank of honorary United States Marine on March 28, 2007, by Commandant Gen. James T. Conway. (Celebrity Veterans)
Mr. T
“A very tough guy is not a predator when you discover one. He is not required to establish himself. Guys that have to act tough aren’t really tough. I’m hardy.”
Mr. T was a member of the biggest team of them all, the U.S. Army before he nearly beat Rocky Balboa to death as Clubber Lang in “Rocky III” and went on to fame as B.A. Baracus on the popular TV show “The A-Team.”
Mr. T, originally Laurence Tureaud, was a good soldier who served in the Army’s Military Police Corps in the middle of the 1970s.
He received a letter of reference from his drill sergeant in November 1975, and in a cycle of 6,000 soldiers, he was chosen as the “Top Trainee of the Cycle” and elevated to squad leader.
He even had a wonderful sense of punishment. His platoon sergeant gave him the task of felling trees as a punishment in July 1976 while they were at training camp at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.
However, because the sergeant did not specify how many trees were to be cut down, Mr. T cut down more than 70 trees in three and a half hours before being relieved of duty.
He tried out for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers after receiving his Army discharge, but due to a knee ailment, he was not selected. (Celebrity Veterans)
But in his subsequent employment as a bouncer at Chicago nightclubs, where he started developing his ultra-tough reputation, his Army police experience came in handy.
Later, he rose to prominence as the first “celebrity bodyguard,” guarding famous people like Steve McQueen, who sounds like a terrific guy to know based on this list.
Sylvester Stallone came upon Mr. T while bouncing and bodyguarding him, and he hired him to play Lang in the third “Rocky” film. From that point on, his career took off, and he rose to prominence as one of the most well-known figures of the 1980s. (Celebrity Veterans)
Johnny Cash
“When I was a child, singing on the radio was a big deal. My dream was only to perform on the Memphis radio station.
Even after I left the Air Force in 1954, I returned to Memphis immediately away and began pounding on doors at the radio station.”
The iconic country singer is referred to as the “Man in Black,” but he served in the Air Force. Cash enlisted in the Air Force right before the Korean War broke out in 1950, but he spent the majority of his four-year commitment in Germany.
Cash was skilled at understanding the rhythms of Morse code and worked as an intercept operator for the USAF Security Service, which is maybe not surprising for a man with music coursing through his veins.
Even when Joseph Stalin, the Soviet ruler, passed away in 1953, he was the first person in the West to learn about it.
Johnny Cash might not have been a part of our lives had it not been for the Air Force. He came from a low-income family of cotton laborers in Arkansas, and it wasn’t until he started getting military pay that he was able to purchase a guitar.
He bought his first guitar in Germany at the Base Exchange. He even got the inspiration for his well-known “Folsom Prison Blues” from a documentary he saw at the base theater.
While in the Air Force, he also started his first band, the Landsberg Barbarians, which he started performing for packed officer’s clubs. (Celebrity Veterans)
After being released from service in 1954, Staff Sgt. Cash utilized his GI Bill funds to enroll in a radio announcing course at a Memphis, Tennessee, broadcasting school.
Later, he stepped into Sun Records Recording Studio to sell recordings to producer Sam Phillips. From there, his career took off.
Although Cash’s reputation as a hard-partying rebel eclipsed his time in the military, he never forgot where he came from.
Years later, when Kris Kristofferson, a young Army veteran, landed a chopper on Cash’s front yard, they became friends.
As Kristofferson feared, Cash would not only refrain from shooting the chopper down but also listen to his music and assisted in launching his career. (Celebrity Veterans)
Clint Eastwood
“During the Korean War, I was drafted. None of us desired to leave. Just a few years had passed after the end of World War II. We asked, “Wait a minute? We just finished it, didn’t we?”
Clint Eastwood served in the Army at Fort Ord, California, before he defied anyone to ruin his day in “Dirty Harry.” Despite being recruited in 1951 during the Korean War, he worked as a swimming instructor for the duration of his military service.
He gave his fellow soldiers good swimming instructions. Before being drafted, Eastwood held a variety of jobs, such as lifeguard and firefighter.
He may have avoided a career in these duties with the help of the military, while the rest of us have benefited from a lifetime of cinematic riches.
His swimming abilities would be useful, as fate (and good fortune) would have it.
One year, while Eastwood was a passenger on a Navy torpedo bomber, the aircraft ran out of fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing three miles off the coast of Point Reyes Station, California, in the Pacific Ocean. (Celebrity Veterans)
Using the life raft, Eastwood and the pilot were able to swim through the tide and more than a mile to the coast.
At Fort Ord, Eastwood was first exposed to Hollywood types, who were taken aback by his appearance but unimpressed with his acting prowess.
Not a big issue; utilizing the GI Bill, Eastwood enrolled in L.A. City College to study drama after being released in 1953.
He had signed his first studio deal by April 1954. He eventually achieved global renown as a result of Italian “spaghetti” westerns, which gave rise to his hard-boiled demeanor and a more than 60-year Hollywood career. (Celebrity Veterans)
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley was already one of the biggest performers in America when he was enlisted in the American Army, having performed in several notable TV specials, hit movies, and popular singles.
It was therefore big news when he got a draft notification, met the requirements to be a 1-A draftee, and then actually enlisted.
Presley did not avoid his responsibilities, and as a result, he had to exchange his leather jacket for Army fatigues. On March 24, 1958, he enlisted in the Army as a regular GI at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. He said, “Hair today, gone tomorrow,” as his infamously unruly hair was shaved off to the required length.
Elvis was transferred to Fort Hood for basic training and was given the nickname “Hell On Wheels” by the Second Armored Division.
Later, he was stationed at Friedberg, Germany, and assigned to the Third Armored Division. He met Priscilla Beaulieu there, and they got married.
The Army may do whatever it wants with me, he said, adding that he only wants to be treated like any other soldier. (Celebrity Veterans)
Contrary to other soldiers, he instead made advantage of his time off to record 10 Top 40 hits, give away his Army salary to charity, and buy extra uniforms and gear for his fellow soldiers.
Elvis had been promoted to sergeant by the time his Army service was over, and on March 5, 1960, he was honorably released from active duty at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Elvis discussed his experiences just before leaving in an interview with Armed Forces Radio and Television: “I was in a peculiar situation.
In actuality, there is no other way it could be. People anticipated that I would make a mistake or make a fool of myself in some way.
They assumed I couldn’t handle it, and so on. I was eager to prove them wrong, not just to the curious people but also to myself.”
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