I Served Too - L L L L

Burt Lancaster RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile (which he called "The Grin"). Later he took roles that went against his initial "tough guy" image. Lancaster was nominated four times for Academy Awards and won once for his work in Elmer Gantry in 1960. He also won a Golden Globe for that performance and BAFTA Awards for The Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Atlantic City (1980). His production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, was the most successful and innovative star-driven independent production company in Hollywood of the 1950s, making movies such as Marty (1955), Trapeze (1956), and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). Lancaster also directed two films: The Kentuckian (1955) and The Midnight Man (1974). In 1999, the American Film Institute named Lancaster nineteenth among the greatest male stars of all time. Served during WW2 with the Army's Twenty-First Special Services Division, one of the military groups organized to follow the troops on the ground and provide USO entertainment to keep up morale. He served with General Mark Clark's Fifth Army in Italy from 1943 to 1945.
Tom Landry RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American football player and coach. He is legendary for his successes as the coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League (NFL) history, creating many new formations and methods. Landry won two Super Bowl titles (VI, XII), 5 NFC titles, 13 Divisional titles, and compiled a 270-178-6 record, the 3rd most wins of all time for an NFL coach. Served in WW2. Landry earned his wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant at Lubbock Army Air Field, and was assigned to the 493d Bombardment Group at RAF Debach, England, as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber co-pilot in the 860th Bombardment Squadron. From November 1944 to April 1945, he completed a combat tour of 30 missions, and survived a crash landing in Belgium after his bomber ran out of fuel.
John Larroquette RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Naval Reserve	American film and television actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, for which he won Emmy Awards in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal. His most memorable non-comedy role was in the 1970s NBC program Baa Baa Black Sheep where he portrayed a WWII USMC fighter pilot 2nd Lt. Bob Anderson. Other movies Larroquette had significant roles in include: Blind Date, Stripes, Meatballs Part II, Summer Rental, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, JFK, and Richie Rich. Served before his acting career.
Charles Laughton RETURN TO INDEX	British Army	English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and one-time director. One of his most famous roles was as Lieutenant William Bligh, in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). Served during WW1 (in which he was gassed) first with the 2/1st Battalion of the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Regiment and later with the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment.
Dan Lauria RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Marine Corps	American television and film actor. Best known for his portrayal of Jack Arnold, the intimidating and money conscious father on the TV series The Wonder Years, that ran from 1988 to 1993. He also played James Webb in the 1998 TV miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and as the U.S. Army Commander in 1996's Independence Day. He also had a small role in a Season two episode of Army Wives, as well as a season one episode of The Mentalist. In 2010, Lauria appears as Vince Lombardi in the Broadway play Lombardi. Served in Vietnam in the early 1970s.
Steve Lawrence RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American singer and actor, perhaps best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormè, billed as Steve and Eydie. The two have appeared together since appearing regularly on Steve Allen's The Tonight Show in the mid-1950s. Drafted in the late 1950s and served as the official vocal soloist with The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" in Washington, D.C.
Robert LaSardo RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American actor in film and television. He is often cast as a Latino or Latin-American character and usually as a criminal or gang member. His films include The Professional (1994), In Hell (2003), and Tortured (2008). He is best known for his TV roles on General Hospital (2005-2007) and Nip/Tuck (2003-2010). Served four years from 1981 to 1985, two of which were spent handling Navy attack dogs in the Aleutian Islands. The last two landed him in places such as Africa, Australia, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia.
Norman Lear RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude. Dropped out of Emerson College in Boston in 1942 to join the service. During WW2 he served in the Mediterranean Theater as a radio operator/gunner on Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with the 772nd Bombardment Squadron, 463rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Fifteenth Air Force. He flew 52 combat missions, for which he was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. He was discharged from the Army in 1945.
Eddie LeBaron RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Marine Corps	American football quarterback in the 1950s and early 1960s in the National Football League. He retired at the end of 1963, after playing 12 seasons, throwing for 13,399 yards and 104 touchdowns. He was selected for the Pro Bowl four times in 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1962. Served as a lieutenant in the Korean War. He was wounded twice and was decorated with the Purple Heart. For his heroic actions on the front lines, he was awarded the Bronze Star.
Christopher Lee RETURN TO INDEX	Finnish Forces & Royal Air Force	English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973), Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in Star Wars episodes II and III (2002, 2005) and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001 to 2003). Volunteered to fight for the Finnish forces during the Winter War against the Soviet Union in 1939; however, he along with other British volunteers were kept away from actual fighting, although he was issued winter gear and was posted on guard duty a safe distance from the frontlines. He went on to serve in the Royal Air Force and intelligence services during WW2, including serving as an Intelligence officer with the Long Range Desert Group. He trained in South Africa as a pilot, but eyesight problems forced him to drop out. He eventually ended up in North Africa as Cipher Officer for No. 260 Squadron RAF and was with it through Sicily and Italy. Lee retired from the RAF after the end of the War with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
Harvey Lembeck RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on The Phil Silvers Show (a.k.a. Sgt. Bilko) in the late 1950s, and as the stumbling, overconfident outlaw biker Eric Von Zipper in the beach party movie series during the 1960s. He also turned in noteworthy performances in both the stage and screen versions of Stalag 17. During the late 1960s and 1970s, Lembeck became a mainstay on television, making over 200 guest appearances, including Ben Casey, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Route 66, The Monkees, Night Gallery, It Takes a Thief, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man, Vega$, All in the Family, and Mork and Mindy. Served in WW2.
Jack Lemmon RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Navy	American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts (for which he won the 1955 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award), Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger (for which he won the 1973 Best Actor Academy Award), The Out-of-Towners, The China Syndrome, Missing (for which he won 'Best Actor' at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival), Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men. In the late 1940s received V-12 training and served as an ensign.
Donn Lewin RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Marine Corps	American professional wrestler. While competing for Capitol Wrestling in Maryland, he teamed with his real-life brother Mark Lewin to win the American Tag Team Championship. In Georgia, he teamed with his brother Mark again to win the Georgia version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship. a promoter asked Lewin to begin wearing a mask and competing as The Executioner. He used the identity while competing in several promotions. During that time period, Lewin also helped train Greg Valentine as a professional wrestler. Served in WW2. Left school at age 15 to the service. He fought at Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, and Guam, and left the marines after attaining the rank of admiral's orderly. During his time in the service, he earned three Purple Hearts for wounds suffered in battle.
Gary Lewis RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys. His number one hit "This Diamond Ring", was on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart on February 20, 1965, made Lewis an instant star. Lewis was Cash Box magazine's 1965 "Male Vocalist of the Year." Besides the Lovin' Spoonful, he was the only artist during the 1960s to have his first seven releases each reach the Top 10 of the Hot 100. His other hits include "Count Me In" (the only non-British Commonwealth record in Hot 100's Top 10 on 8 May 1965, at #2), "She's Just My Style", and "Everybody Loves a Clown". Drafted in January 1967 he served in Vietnam until 1968.
G. Gordon Liddy RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American radio talk show host. His radio show as of 2009 is syndicated in 160 markets by Radio America and on both Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio stations in the U.S. He has also been a guest panelist for Fox News Channel in addition to appearing in a cameo role or as a guest celebrity talent in several television shows. He was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed from July-September 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency. Separately, along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy also organized and directed the Watergate burglaries of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate building in May and June of 1972. After five of Liddy's operatives were arrested inside the DNC offices on June 17, 1972, subsequent investigations of the Watergate scandal led to President's Nixon's resignation in August 1974. Liddy served nearly fifty-two months in federal prisons for his conviction of various crimes related to the Plumbers and/or the Watergate affair. Served during the Korean War. Served for two years as an artillery officer. He remained stateside for medical reasons.
Reginald Lisowski RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Crusher whose haydays were in the 1950s and 1960s, officially retiring in 1981. Promoted as "The Wrestler Who Made Milwaukee Famous," he'd brag about running along the Lake Michigan waterfront with a keg of beer on each shoulder so he could get in shape to polka all night with the town's many Polish barmaids. Until early 1965, Crusher was a heel (hated bad guy) in the AWA. After meeting the legendary team of Larry Hennig & Harley Race for the first time, the fans adopted Crusher and his wrestling "cousin" Dick the Bruiser as full fledged heroes in AWA territory. Crusher was successful as a solo wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Served in WW2 and took up wrestling while stationed in Germany in 1945 to 1946.
Kurt Loder RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American film critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later called "legendary". He has contributed to articles in Reason, Esquire, Details, New York, and Time. He has also made cameos on several films and television series. Prior to Rolling Stone, Loder had worked for Circus magazine. He is currently best known for his role at MTV News and for appearing in numerous other MTV-related television specials. Drafted in the mid-1960s and joined the Army's 4-week journalism school. He was stationed in Germany and served 3 years.
Frank Loesser RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army Air Forces	American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the latter. He also wrote numerous songs for films and Tin Pan Alley, many of which have become standards, and was nominated for five Academy Awards for best song, winning once, for Baby, It's Cold Outside. Served in WW2. Enlisted as a song writer, Loesser wrote the popular war songs Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition (1942) and The Ballad of Rodger Young (1943), among others. In 1944, Loesser worked on a little known musical intended to be performed by and for US soldiers abroad, titled Hi Yank!, the music for which was composed by Alex North. Hi Yank! was produced by the U.S. Army Office of Special Services as a "blueprint special" to boost the morale of soldiers located where USO shows could not visit.
Jack Lord RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army & Merchant Marine	American television, film, and Broadway actor. He was known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the American television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980. Lord appeared in feature films earlier in his career, among them Man of the West (1958). He was the first actor to play recurring character Felix Leiter in the first James Bond film Dr. No. Spent the first year of WW2 with the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers, building bridges in Persia. He returned to the Merchant Marine as an Able Seaman before enrolling in the deck officer course at Fort Trumbull.
Joe Louis RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis helped elevate boxing from a nadir in popularity in the post-Jack Dempsey era by establishing a reputation as an honest, hardworking fighter at a time when the sport was dominated by gambling interests. Louis's championship reign lasted 140 consecutive months, during which he participated in 27 championship fights, 26 championship fights during his reign; the 27th, against Ezzard Charles, was a challenge to Charles' heavyweight title and so is not included in Louis' reign. All in all, Joe was victorious in 25 successful title defenses, a record for the heavyweight division. In 2005, Louis was named the greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization, and was ranked number one on The Ring's list of 100 Greatest Punchers of All Time. Volunteered to enlist as a private in January 1942 at Camp Upton, Long Island. For basic training, Louis was assigned to a segregated cavalry unit based in Fort Riley, Kansas. Louis used this personal connection to help the cause of various black soldiers with whom he came in to contact. Realizing Louis's potential for elevating esprit de corps among the troops, the Army placed him in its Special Services Division rather than deploying him into combat. Louis would go on a celebrity tour with other notables including fellow boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. Louis traveled more than 21,000 miles and staged 96 boxing exhibitions before two million soldiers.
Sidney Lumet RETURN TO INDEX	U.S. Army	American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his name. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982). He did not win an individual Academy Award, although he did receive an Academy Honorary Award and 14 of his films were nominated for various Oscars, such as Network, which was nominated for 10, winning 4. The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. Served in WW2 (1942 to 1946) as a radar repairman stationed in India and Burma.

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