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Stars in Khaki: Movie Actors in the Army and the Air Services
Stars in Khaki Movie Actors in the Army and the Air Services Author:James E. Wise, Paul, III Wilderson A companion to the successful volumes on the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Stars in Blue and Stars in the Corps, this book is filled with celebrity profiles of motion picture stars who served in the U.S. Army and air services from World War I through the Vietnam War. Many readers will discover for the first time details of the contri... more »butions made by Audie Murphy, Charlton Heston, Jimmy Stewart and many others. Most remarkable is the large number of celebrities who chose to serve their country in a military capacity--especially during World War II--instead of continuing their lives of luxury in Hollywood. With the previous two books, this work completes the picture of the military experience of movie stars in the United States. Find out about Ronald Reagan as an officer in the Army Air Corps Reserve producing training films for pilots, and Elvis Presley's time as a sergeant, and how Clark Gable, a B-17 gunner, almost became a casualty during a bombing mission over Germany. Rarely have the lives of movie stars been so honestly portrayed and with such interesting anecdotes and photographs of their military experiences. Encyclopedic in scope, many of these portraits are based on interviews with the stars and their families, and, to assure authenticity, on official reports and documents. Even the most avid movie buff will be surprised and delighted by the little-known facts presented here, and military buffs and historians will be impressed by the often difficult and sometimes dangerous work of these celebrities.« less