Wayne Never Served in WW2Although appearing in many
war films and frequently being eulogized as an "American hero,"
Wayne never served in the Armed Forces, although he made an
effort to, and he was greatly patriotic. Between 1940, when the
military draft was reinstated and the end of World War II in
1945, he remained in Hollywood and made 21 movies. (Among them
was Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (1942), in which he
portrayed one of the few less-than-honorable characters in his
career.) He was of draft age (34) at the time of Pearl Harbor in
1941, but asked for and received a deferral for family
dependency, a classification of 3-A. This was later changed to a
deferment in the national interest, 2-A.
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John Wayne and
other famous cowboys
Rounding up some wild horses
Wayne appeared in many strong masculine ("macho") roles in
western films and war films, but he also had a down-to-earth
sense of humour which allowed him to appear in a pink bunny suit
for an episode of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, as well as in
comedy movies. According to the Internet Movie Database Wayne
played the male lead in 142 of his film appearances, an as yet
unsurpassed record. One of Wayne's best roles was ironically in
one of the few films he made that wasn't a Western or war
picture. The film was The High And The Mighty released in 1954.
The movie was directed by William Wellman and based on a novel
by Ernest K. Gann. Wayne played the co-pilot of a plane that
develops serious engine problems in flight. His portrayal of the
heroic airman won widespread acclaim. Sadly, this film has not
been seen for many years due to lawsuits and copyright issues
with Wayne's estate. The film co-starred Robert Stack and Jan
Sterling.
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