My generation grew up
watching, being entertained by and laughing with so many of these fine people.
Never really knowing what they contributed to the war effort.
Like millions of Americans during WWI & WWII, there was a job that needed
doing and they didn't question it,
just went and did it.
Those that came home returned to their now new normal life and carried on
and
very few ever saying what they did or saw.
They took it as their "responsibility" and their "duty" to the Country to
protect and preserve our freedoms.
American way of life not just for themselves, but for all future generations to
come.
As a member of that “Finest" generation, I'm forever humbly in their debt.
Here are only a few of these silent heroic Heroes that are slowly being forgotten
Do You Remember These Men?
Page #12
Van Heflin served during WWII as a camera man in the North Air Force
in Europe and with the First Motion Picture unit.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. was a highly
decorated naval officer of World War II,
receiving the Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit,
and the American Defense Service Medal.
He joined the naval reserves before the war.
Alan Ladd US Army Air Corps (Served 1943-1943) After
initially being classified 4-F in World War II due to stomach problems,
Ladd was later instructed to begin military service in January of 1943.
He joined the Army Air Forces and sent to a camp at Walla Walla, Washington,
attaining the rank of corporal.
But in mid-November 1943, he was given an honorable medical discharge due to an
ulcer and double hernia.
Richard Denning
joined the Navy in WWII
as a First Class Petty Officer in the submarine service.
Johnny Cash was the first American to find out that Soviet
dictator Joseph Stalin had died.
Cash found out before Dwight Eisenhower, who was not only the President at the
time
but also had stood next to Stalin during WWII.
Gene Kelly enlisted in the US Navy During World War II,
and was stationed at Anacostia Naval Base, in Washington DC, where he starred in
several Navy training films.
Gene Rayburn joined the United States Army Air Corps,
He began training at Goodfellow Field in San Angelo, Texas and graduated in
1942,
He flew combat missions in the Pacific Theatre with the “Bomber Barons” of the
394th Bomb Squadron,
5th Bombardment Wing of the Thirteenth Air Force.
8/2/43 he was piloting a B-17E Flying Fortress named the “Yankee Doodle”,
mechanical failure caused it to crash on take-off.
He flew 89 missions & was awarded the Flying Cross
and the Air Medal before 1945.
Robert Cummings enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was the first official flight
instructor
who was taught to fly by his godfather Orville Wright.
Jackie Cooper served in the USN during WWII in the So. Pacific.
Remained active in reserves for several decades reaching the rank Captain.
In '59 commissioned Line Officer helping in recruiting, P.R. and training films.
Co-piloted jets for the USN and was one of three to be an Honorary Aviator.
Was in uniform aboard the USS Constellation for the Bicentennial Celebration.
Holds Letters of Commendation from 6 Secretaries of Navy, Charter of VIVA.
Freddie Joe "Fred" Ward spent three years 1960-63 in the United States Air Force.
Morgan Freeman he had a scholarship from Jackson State Univ.
but
join
the US Air Forces
as an Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman,
Rising to the rank of Airman
1st Class,
served
several years in the US Air Force a mechanic between 1955 and 1959.
Myrna Loy,
served during World
War II as assistant to the
director of military and naval welfare for the Red
Cross.
She was later appointed a member-at-large of the U.S. Commission to UNESCO
(United Nations).
She was so outspokenly against Adolf Hitler that her name
appeared on his blacklist.
Loy campaigned vigorously for Adlai Stevenson and Eugene McCarthy and later to
stop the Vietnam War, and worked for human and civil rights.
"DISCLAIMER"
This is a personal web site that is not sponsored and/or does not claim to be the official pages of the organizations listed on this site. This is a free site for information purposes only and is to list contacts and events.