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Celebrities Who Served

AFN Patrick Leonard Sajdak (Pat Sajak), U.S. Army (1968-1969)

AFN Patrick Leonard Sajdak (Pat Sajak), U.S. Army (1968-1969)

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Pat Sajak, best known as the longtime host of the “Wheel of Fortune,” has held many jobs. Early in his career, Sajak was a weatherman, talk show host, and DJ. Wheel of Fortune, which debuted in 1975, became the longest-running syndicated game show on American television, turning Sajak and his co-host, Vanna White, into pop-culture icons. But not many know that before his showbiz career began, Sajak served our country in the military during the Vietnam War.  Pat Sajak’s Early Life On October 26, 1946, Patrick Leonard Sajdak, who will one day be known to millions of game-show fans as the Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, was born in Chicago. Patrick would later drop the “d” in his last name for professional reasons and to ease pronunciation. Unfortunately, Pat’s father died when he was still a young boy and the family lost a wage earner in addition to a dad. Sajak found his start in broadcasting through Columbia College Chicago. While attending, an instructor helped him get a job...

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SA David ‘Sinbad’ Adkins, U.S. Air Force (1979-1983)

SA David ‘Sinbad’ Adkins, U.S. Air Force (1979-1983)

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SA David ‘Sinbad’ Adkins (U.S. Air Force, 1979-1983) is best known for his body of work as a comedian and film & TV actor. He became known in the 1990s for being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series such as Coach Walter Oakes in A Different World, and as David Bryan on The Sinbad Show, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way, Good Burger, and Planes. Prior to this success, however, Sinbad spent some time in the military. TogetherWeServed examines how a failed basketball prospect became one of the 90s’ most prominent Black comedic actors. Sinbad’s Early Years David ‘Sinbad’ Adkins born in Michigan in 1956, the son of a Baptist minister. David Adkins graduated Benton Harbor High School in 1974. He visited an Air Force installation in Colorado, but llost interest in enlisting upon learning he would have to give up his afro. Instead, he went to college at the University of Denver, CO on an impulse,...

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George H.W. Bush And the Chichi Jima Incident

George H.W. Bush And the Chichi Jima Incident

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By the summer of 1944, continuous successes against the Japanese placed Allied forces on the doorsteps of its mainland. Convinced an invasion of Japan was necessary for a final victory, military commanders began planning for an amphibious landing on the strategically located Iwo Jima, roughly 575 miles from the Japanese coast. Once in the hands of the Allies, Iwo Jima would be a perfect place where B-29 bombers, damaged over Japan, could land without returning all the way to the Mariana Islands retaken from the Japanese after brutal fighting on Guam, Saipan, and Tinian. It would also serve as a base for escort fighters that would assist in the bombing campaign.  In June 1944, Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher's Task Force began naval ship bombardments and air raids against Iwo Jima in preparation for an amphibious assault.  One hundred and fifty miles north of Iwo Jima was Chichi Jima, another target of multiple bombings beginning in June 1944 and ending September 1944. These...

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SSgt Bernice Frankel (Bea Arthur), U.S. Marine Corps (1943-1945)

SSgt Bernice Frankel (Bea Arthur), U.S. Marine Corps (1943-1945)

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Bernice Frankel, better known as Bea Arthur, of the U.S. Marine Corps between 1943 and 1945, went on to be one of television’s best-loved sitcom stars. As one of the nation’s beloved Golden Girls, she was outspoken in and out of the character of Dorothy Zbornak, advocating for the rights of women and minorities. Yet she was also an intensely private person who kept many details of her life to herself for decades. Bea Arthur’s Military Career Bea Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in May 1922 to a Jewish family living in Brooklyn, New York. Her family relocated to Cambridge, Maryland in 1933, where her parents opened a women’s clothing store. Bernice developed a medical condition called coagulopathy at the age of 16. Her family sent her to boarding school for her health. After high school, she spent a year at Blackstone College for Girls in Virginia before entering the workforce. According to her official military personnel file, she had held previous jobs as a food analyst at a Maryland...

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LCpl Adam Douglas Driver, U.S. Marine Corps (2001-2004)

LCpl Adam Douglas Driver, U.S. Marine Corps (2001-2004)

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Adam Driver is an accomplished actor with two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Primetime Emmy Awards, among other accolades. But did you know that before he became the face of Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Driver served in the US Marine Corps? Inspired to join USMC shortly after the tragic events of 9/11, Adam Driver was preparing for active duty in Iraq, when he suffered an injury in a bicycle accident that prevented his deployment. Although his service in the Marines was brief, it was very impactful, and today Adam Driver is working to bridge the cultural gap between the United States Armed Forces and the performing arts communities by bringing the best modern American theater to the military. Adam Driver’s Early Life and Failed Juilliard Audition Adam Driver was born on November 19, 1983, in San Diego, California, the son of Nancy Wright, a paralegal, and Joe Douglas Driver. His father's family is from Arkansas and his mother's family is from...

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LCDR Montel Williams, US Navy and USMC (1974-1986)

LCDR Montel Williams, US Navy and USMC (1974-1986)

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Montel Williams is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of The Montel Williams Show, which aired nationally for seventeen years. Montel Brian Anthony Williams, known to most as simply “Montel,” is also an actor and motivational speaker. But did you know that Montel Williams served in the military? His decorated military service spanned 22 years in two branches of the service—the United States Marines and the United States Navy. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1974 and later became the first black man to graduate from the Naval Academy in 1980. Today, along with being a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Montel is a passionate advocate for veterans.  Montel Williams’s Early Years Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 3, 1956, Montel was the youngest of four children born to Marjorie and Herman Williams. Montel's father was a firefighter who in 1992 became Baltimore's first African American Fire Chief. Williams was raised as a Roman Catholic...

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A1C Morgan Freeman, U.S. Air Force (1955-1959)

A1C Morgan Freeman, U.S. Air Force (1955-1959)

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Morgan Freeman, recipient of the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, is an American actor, director, and narrator. Noted for his distinctive deep voice, Freeman didn't get his first big break until age 49. Most readers know Freeman for his perfromance in Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, or Driving Miss Daisy. But did you know that acting was not Freeman’s first love? As a young man, he dreamed of being an Air Force pilot, turned down an drama scholarship to enlist in the Air Force, where he served for four years. Morgan Freeman’s Early Years Morgan Freeman was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on the 1st of June, 1937. These were harsh years, with the Wall Street Crash leading through to the Dust Bowl and then the war in Europe. His father, Morgan Sr, was a barber, his mother Mayme a cleaner struggling to maintain a family that eventually included six children: five boys and one girl, Morgan being the fourth-born. When Morgan was very young, like so many other...

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LTJG Neil Alden Armstrong, U.S. Navy (1949-1952)

LTJG Neil Alden Armstrong, U.S. Navy (1949-1952)

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Neil Alden Armstrong who served in the US Navy between 1949 and 1952, is better known as the first man to walk on the Moon. His iconic announcement ‘One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind,’ and first steps on an extraterrestrial body were broadcast to over 650 million people: around a fifth of the total world population. Armstrong’s path to becoming the most iconic and famous astronaut of all time began near Wapakoneta, Ohio. Neil Armstrong’s Military Career Born on August 5, 1930, Neil Alden Armstrong developed an early interest in flying and gained his student flight certificate at the age of 16, before he even gained his driver’s license. At the age of 17, Armstrong received a Navy scholarship under the Holloway Plan, studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue University. With his scholarship, Armstrong was required to undergo two years of study prior to two years of flight training, as well as a full year of service in the US Navy as an aviator. Once those years...

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PVT Jimi Hendrix, U.S. Army (1961-1962)

PVT Jimi Hendrix, U.S. Army (1961-1962)

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Jimi Hendrix, an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music is one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. Did you know Jimi Hendrix briefly served in the U.S. Army? James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was born in 1942 in Seattle while his father Al Hendrix, drafted into the Army during World War II, was imprisoned in an Alabama stockade. Drafted just three days after marrying Jimi’s mother, Lucille Jeter, Al spent a month in Fort Benning, Georgia, and was then sent to Camp Rucker in Alabama. He was a field artillery gunner for Company B of the 903rd Airbase Security Battalion. Their job was to guard the Eighth Airforce's airstrips, planes, and bomb dumps -- traveling wherever the Eighth Airforce went. Al requested leave around the time Jimi was to be born, but he was refused because he lived in Seattle. The army was only allowing five days leave for family births, and he would...

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2LT Jack “Jackie” Robinson, U.S. Army (1942-1944)

2LT Jack “Jackie” Robinson, U.S. Army (1942-1944)

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Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player, Social Reformer, famed baseball player and civil rights advocate, Jack "Jackie" Robinson became the first African-American to play in modern major league baseball. Jack "Jackie" Robinson Was Assigned to a Segregated Army Cavalry Unit at Fort Riley In 1942, Jack Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) located at Fort Riley. Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race-neutral, practically speaking, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership. As a result, the applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months. After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and Truman Gibson's help (then an assistant...

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Sgt Thomas William Selleck (Tom Selleck), U.S. Army, (1967-1973)

Sgt Thomas William Selleck (Tom Selleck), U.S. Army, (1967-1973)

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Known for his leading role in ‘Magnum, P.I.’ and as Monica’s love interest in ‘Friends’, Tom Selleck is a household name whose career has spanned over four decades. He’s had numerous on-screen careers, but you know that Tom Selleck is a Vietnam War era veteran? Tom Selleck’s Early Life Thomas William Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1945, but his family moved to Sherman Oaks, California, in 1948. Raised by hardworking parents, Tom Selleck learned the values of the U.S. military from an early age. Tom Selleck grew up hearing tales of World War II. His father, Robert, was a B29 mechanic in the Army Air Corps. His uncle Lyle went missing in action during the Battle of the Bulge, and his uncle George flew the Hump, the aviation route from India to China. Selleck graduated from Grant High School in 1962 and enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College. Later, Selleck, who stands 6 ft 4 in tall, transferred to the University of Southern California during his junior year to play for the...

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Capt Dan Lauria, U.S. Marine Corps (1970-1973)

Capt Dan Lauria, U.S. Marine Corps (1970-1973)

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Dan Lauria: Marine Corps Veteran, Veteran Actor Dan Lauria, one of America’s best-known TV dads due to his famous role as “Kevin’s Dad” on the hit show Wonder Years, is an accomplished TV, film, and stage actor. His service in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War had a profound impact on both his life and his acting career. Todays, Lauria continues to support veterans through his involvement in several important organizations. Dan Lauria’s Early Years On Stage Lauria, an Italian-American, was born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Lindenhurst, New York. He graduated from Lindenhurst Senior High School in 1965 as a varsity football player. Later, he briefly returned to the same high school as a football coach. Lauria developed an interest in performing from his aunt who used to awaken him to watch old movies on TV. A joke cracked on the football field in college led to acting lessons with Yale's Constance Welch. Lauria’s father was a World War II veteran of the Army who...

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