James Garner’s first love wasn’t acting. He wanted to serve his country, and did so as a merchant marine during the tail end of WWII. His real name is James Scott Bumgarner, and he was so rapt about the idea, that he intentionally dropped out of school and lied about his age so he could be taken in. At the time, the merchant marines were supplying crucial aid to Europe.
After the war, he went back to school and dropped out again, this time to join the Oklahoma National Guard. He was drafted to serve in the Korean War, where he was awarded two Purple Hearts. After his service, he eventually pursued his love for acting and moved back to California.
Harvey Keitel
One of Hollywood’s elite, Harvey Keitel, who has appeared in many box office hits, like The Last Temptation of Christ, Pulp Fiction, and Taxi Driver, is one of the band of brave souls in the entertainment industry that enlisted in the army.
This Golden Globe Award nominee has an amazing mind,and was once quoted as saying, “for me the Marine Corps was a spiritual journey, it’s not about war.” In 1956, he dropped everything to join the marines. When we say dropped, we mean he left University. He then served in Lebanon where he was awarded a medal for being a fire team leader. After the war, he flew back to the US and eventually went in as an actor at the New York Actors Studio.
Harry Dean Stanton
When World War II broke out, Harry Dean Stanton immediately took the chance to sign up for the navy. Like many young men of his day, Stanton was livid, eager to participate in the war effort against evil regimes. This was after he’d already dropped out of college to study acting, but he knew it was a once in a lifetime chance. It was embarrassing to be an able lad left back home in wartime.
He served in the battle of Okinawa, aboard a landing ship, as a galley cook. After the war, he went on to pursue other opportunities in journalism, then went on to radio, before he finally made the decision to stick to acting.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was not only one of the best novelists of all-time, his war stories would bring you back to the gravest of times, on the frontlines, shot at, surrounded by the stench of death and fresh blood.
In fact, most of his writing was influenced by his experiences during the WWI, where he served as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross, in Italy. There he was wounded by an Austrian mortar fire barely a week into active duty. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his bravery during WWII. Henry Louis Gates believes the great Hemingway shaped his unique literary style from what he experienced during wartime.
Michael Caine
British actor, Michael Caine, ironically got his first real taste of the preciousness of life when he was drafted as a British army soldier during the Korean War. It was in the arms of utter danger, having fought on the front lines, face to face with the enemy, that the meaning of being alive dawned on him; right as he was certain his own life was about to be snuffed out. He believes that every man should serve in the military for at least six months to ensure they get a taste of the profound lesson he learned.
Caine ended up contracting malaria and was medically discharged. He decided to head back home to London so that he could pursue his dream of acting... and the rest is history. His first big break came when he played a British army private in a war movie titled A Hill in Korea.