I Served Too - F F F F

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American actor noted for such swashbuckling adventure films as The Mark of Zorro, Robin Hood and The Thief of Bagdad. In the last years of the silent period he was upped to star billing opposite Loretta Young in several pre-Code films and Joan Crawford in Our Modern Maidens (1929). He supported John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in Woman of Affairs (1929). Progressing to sound, he played opposite Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar-winning role in the film Morning Glory (1933). Commissioned a reserve officer in the United States Navy at the onset of WW2. Assigned to Lord Louis Mountbatten's Commando staff in England where he attained a depth of understanding and appreciation of military deception then unheard of in the United States Navy. For his planning of the diversion-deception operations and his part in the amphibious assault on Southern France, he was awarded the Legion of Merit with bronze V (for valor), the Italian War Cross for Military Valor, the French Legion d'honneur and the Croix de guerre with Palm, and the British Distinguished Service Cross. Fairbanks was also awarded the Silver Star for valor displayed while serving on PT boats. He was made an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1949. He stayed in the Naval Reserve after the war and ultimately retired a captain in 1954.
Mike Farrell RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Marine Corps	American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series MASH (1975 to 1983). He got his start acting on several TV sitcoms; McHale's Navy (1963), Ensign O'Toole (1963), Combat! (1966), Ranger (1967), Garrison's Gorillas (1967), The Monkees (1967), and Lassie (1967) which led to his role on "Days of Our Lives" (1965). When "MASH" (1972) went off the air, he resisted series TV for many years until he was offered "Providence" (1999). In the meantime, he formed his own production company, which made the Robin Williams vehicle, Patch Adams (1998). He is an activist for several politically liberal causes. Served in the 1950s for 2 years.
Al Feldstein RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2003. Served in WW2. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Air Force in July, 1943, as an aviation cadet and began his basic training in Blytheville, Arkansas. His cadet class was held in reserve, and he was assigned to Special Services, creating signs and service club murals, decorating planes and flight jackets, drawing comic strips for field newspapers and painting squadron insignias for orderly rooms.
Norman Fell RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers. Served in WW2 as a tail gunner in the European Theater.
Bob Feller RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Feller joined the Cleveland Indians without having played in the minors. He spent his entire career of 18 years with the Indians, being one of "The Big Four" Indians pitching rotation in the 1950s On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama (BB-60), and missed four seasons during his service in WW2, being decorated with five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars. His bunk is marked on the Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. Feller is the only Chief Petty Officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Eddie Fisher RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American singer and entertainer, who was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered scandalously unwelcome publicity at the time. He was also married to Connie Stevens. A pre-rock and roll vocalist, Fisher's strong and melodious tenor made him a teen idol and one of the most popular singers of the early 1950s. He had seventeen songs in the Top 10 on the music charts between 1950 and 1956 and thirty-five in the Top 40. He also had a variety television series, Coke Time with Eddie Fisher (NBC) (1953 to 1957), appeared on The Perry Como Show, Club Oasis, The Martha Raye Show, The Gisele MacKenzie Show, The Chesterfield Supper Club and The George Gobel Show, and starred in another series, The Eddie Fisher Show (NBC) (1957 to 1959). Fisher has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording, at 6241 Hollywood Boulevard, and one for television, at 1724 Vine Street. Served in Korea. Was drafted in 1951, sent to Texas for basic training, and served a year in Korea. From 1952 to 1953, he was the official vocal soloist for The United States Army Band (Pershing's Own) and a tenor section member in the United States Army Band Chorus (an element of Pershing's Own) assigned at Fort Myer in the Washington, D.C. Military District. During his active duty period, he also made occasional guest television appearances, in uniform, introduced as "Pfc Eddie Fisher."
F. Scott Fitzgerald RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost Generation" of the 1920s. He finished four novels, This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, Tender is the Night and his most famous, the celebrated classic, The Great Gatsby. Served in WW1. Joined in 1917 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry. He was assigned to Camp Sheridon, Alabama in 1918. The war ended before he was sent overseas and was discharged in 1919.
Eric Fleming RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American actor, known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the long running CBS television series Rawhide. Served in WW2 as a SeaBee in a naval construction battalion. He received severe facial injuries in an accident at work and underwent extensive plastic surgery.
Joe Flynn RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American character actor. He was best known for his role in the 1960s ABC television situation comedy, McHale's Navy. He was also a frequent guest star on 1960s TV shows such as Batman and appeared in several Walt Disney film comedies. Later in his career, Flynn worked as a voice actor for Disney animated features including The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, Now You See Him, Now You Don't and The Strongest Man in the World, his final live-action film. Flynn also starred in The Love Bug, The Barefoot Executive, The Million Dollar Duck and with Don Knotts in How to Frame a Figg (1973). Served in WW2 with Special Services entertaining the troops in the United States.
Larry Flynt RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army & U.S. Navy	American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP) which publishes Hustler. Flynt has fought several prominent legal battles involving the First Amendment, and has unsuccessfully run for public office. He is paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained in a 1978 assassination attempt. In his early teens (under a false age), Flynt spent a year in the U.S. Army until he was discharged because of low test scores. He then joined his mother in Dayton, Ohio, where he held various jobs, including one at a General Motors Assembly Plant. Flynt soon grew frustrated with his job, and sought the familiar discipline of the military. This time he enlisted in the Navy (1960 to 1964), where he outshined first time recruits because of his previous experience. He eventually served as a radar operator on the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).
John Fogerty RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Reserve	American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists at #40 and the list of 100 Greatest Singers at #72. The songs "Proud Mary" and "Born on the Bayou" also rank amongst the Greatest Pop songs ("Proud Mary," #41) and Guitar songs ("Born on the Bayou," #53). Was almost drafted in 1966, but instead he joined a Reserve unit. He served at Fort Bragg, Fort Knox, and Fort Lee. He was discharged from the Army in July 1967.
Henry Fonda RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American film and stage actor. He is widely recognized as one of the Hollywood greats of the classic era. From the beginning of his career in 1935 through his last projects in 1981, Fonda appeared in 106 films, television programs, and shorts. Through the course of his career he appeared in many critically acclaimed films, including such classics as 12 Angry Men and The Ox-Bow Incident. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in 1940's The Grapes of Wrath and won for his part in 1981's On Golden Pond. In 1999, he was named the sixth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. During WW2 served for three years, initially as a Quartermaster 3rd Class on the destroyer USS Satterlee (DD-626). Later commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade in Air Combat Intelligence in the Central Pacific and was awarded the Bronze Star and a Presidential Unit Citation.
Glenn Ford RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Marine Corps & U.S. Navy	Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades. Despite his versatility, Ford was best known for playing ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Volunteered for duty in WW2 with the United States Marine Corps Reserve on December 13, 1942. Assigned in March 1943 to active duty at the USMC Base in San Diego. Sent to Marine Corps Schools Detachment (Photographic Section) in Quantico, Virginia three months later, with orders as a motion-picture production technician. Promoted to sergeant and was assigned to the radio section of the Public Relations Office. He was honorably discharged from the Marines on December 7, 1944. In 1958 joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and was commissioned as a lieutenant commander and made a public affairs officer. During his annual training tours, he promoted the Navy through radio and television broadcasts, personal appearances, and documentary films. He was promoted to commander in 1963 and captain in 1968. Went to Vietnam in 1967 for a month's tour of duty as a location scout for combat scenes in a training film. Traveled with a combat camera crew from the demilitarized zone south to the Mekong Delta. For his service in Vietnam, the Navy awarded him a Navy Commendation Medal. His WW2 decorations are as follows: American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Rifle Marksman Badge, and the USMC Reserve Medal. He retired from the Naval Reserve in the 1970s at the rank of captain.
John Ford RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy & U.S. Naval Reserve	American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath. His four Academy Award for Best Directors (1935, 1940, 1941, 1952) is a record, and one of those films, How Green Was My Valley, also won Best Picture. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Ford directed more than 140 films (although nearly all of his silent films are now lost) and he is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. Ford's films and personality were held in high regard by his colleagues as one of the greatest directors of all time. Served in WW2 as as head of the photographic unit for the Office of Strategic Services, made documentaries for the Navy Department. He won two more Academy Awards during this time, one for the semi-documentary The Battle of Midway (1942), and a second for the propaganda film December 7th (1943). Commander Ford was a veteran of the Battle of Midway, where he was wounded in the arm by shrapnel while filming the Japanese attack from the power plant of Sand Island on Midway. He was awareded the Purple Heart. Ford was also present on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He crossed the English Channel on the USS Plunkett (DD-431), anchored off Omaha Beach at 0600 where he observed the first wave land on the beach from the ship, landing on the beach himself later with a team of US Coast Guard cameramen who filmed the battle from behind the beach obstacles, with Ford directing operations. The film was edited in London, but very little was released to the public due to its graphic content. His last wartime film was They Were Expendable (MGM, 1945), an account of America's disastrous defeat in The Philippines, told from the viewpoint of a PT boat squadron and its commander. After the war, Ford became a Rear Admiral in the United States Naval Reserve.
Tennessee Ernie Ford RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres. He released almost 50 country singles through the early 1950s, several of which made the charts. Ford scored an unexpected hit on the pop charts in 1955 with his rendition of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons". First Lieutenant Ford served in WW2 as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying missions over Japan.
John Forsythe RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American stage, television and film actor. Forsythe starred in three television series, spanning four decades and three genres: as single playboy father Bentley Gregg in the 1950s sitcom Bachelor Father (1957 to 1962); as the unseen millionaire Charles Townsend on the 1970s crime drama Charlie's Angels (1976 to 1981), and as patriarch Blake Carrington on the 1980s soap opera Dynasty (1981 to 1989). Left his movie career for service in WW2, he appeared in the U.S. Army Air Forces play and film Winged Victory, then worked with injured soldiers who had developed speech problems.
Dennis Franz RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American film and television actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt. Norman Buntz on Hill Street Blues, and earlier played Detective Benedetto, a corrupt cop also on HSB. Franz went on to win four Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Andy Sipowicz on NYPD Blue. After graduating from college, Franz was drafted into the service. He served eleven months in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne Division and served in a reconnaissance unit.
Alan Freed RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll. His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s. Served in WW2 and worked as a DJ on WKBN Armed Forces Radio in Ohio.
Morgan Freeman RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Air Force	American actor, film director, and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won in 2005 for Million Dollar Baby. He has also won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Freeman has appeared in many other box office hits, including Unforgiven, Glory, Deep Impact, The Sum of All Fears, Batman Begins, March of the Penguins, The Dark Knight, and Red. Served as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959.
Samuel Fuller RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American screenwriter, novelist, and film director known for low-budget genre movies with controversial themes. His masterpiece was Pickup on South Street (1953) for 20th Century Fox, but at the end of the 1950s, he regained his independence from the production company and filmed many other movies of note, including the controversial White Dog (1982). Served in WW2. Was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, and saw heavy fighting. He was involved in landings in Africa, Sicily, and Normandy and also saw action in Belgium and Czechoslovakia. In 1945 he was present at the liberation of the German concentration camp at Falkenau and shot 16 mm footage which was used later in the documenatary Falkenau: The Impossible. For his service, he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. Fuller used his wartime experiences as material in his films, especially in The Big Red One (1980), a nickname of the 1st Infantry Division.

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