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and what did you do in the big war, daddy?

posted 8 years ago by romar289
1 reply | jump to latest

World War II arguably was THE epic war for the U.S. of the 20th century. In enjoying movies from that era (1941-1945), it's interesting to check IMDb bio's to see where the male cast members were at the time. We know Jimmie Stewart and many others took a career break to serve in the U.S. armed services. But unless these other guys were excused for medical or other extraordinary reasons -and playing around making movies in Hollywood should not have been an excuse to get out of the service- I tend to think just a bit less of them and a whole lot more of those who did serve.

How about it you U.S. veterans out there, what do YOU folks think?

The best revenge: Live well, enjoy life and be happy. Drives any haters crazy.

[–] liscarkat (16496) 3 years ago

It wasn't a simple, black-and-white situation. Everyone had to deal with his own complicated life circumstances. Without having been there as a witness in each case, or knowing the details of all those circumstances, judging anyone is simplistic and meaningless. My grandfather served in the U.S. Cavalry during the expedition to fight Pancho Villa, then in the infantry in France during WWI. My dad was on the crew of a U.S. Navy destroyer in WWII, and my uncle flew in B-17s over Germany, Italy, and North Africa during that war. None of them had any animosity toward movie actors, or anyone else who didn't happen to have been in the military. I don't think it was anything they ever even thought about. As for Joel McRae, he was eleven years old when the U.S. entered WWI, and thirty-six when the U.S. entered WWII, not ideal ages for war service. He could have signed up for some kind of entertainment or film-making branch, which would have been a patriotic gesture, but it's unlikely he would ever have been assigned to combat duty.