After WWII, Obi Wan Kenobi Almost Became a Priest
Alec Guinness was ordered to Boston in 1943 to take charge of his first command, a freshly built landing craft. He sailed his ship and new crew across the Atlantic to North Africa. There, they began to train for the Allied invasion of Sicily. On July 9th, 1943 he took 200 men to land on Passaro, Sicily. However, because of a communications breakdown, he was not informed that the invasion had been delayed. So his craft arrived on the beach alone and disembarked its troops an hour early.
Later, he landed troops on the island of Elba, and in the Normandy invasion. He also ferried agents and supplies to the Yugoslav partisans. During the war, he was allowed a leave of absence to appear onstage in the play Flare Path, about the RAF’s Bomber Command. Guinness’ WWII experiences led him to contemplate becoming a priest. Fortunately for the stage and film and millions of viewers worldwide, he decided to continue his thespian career, which he resumed after his demobilization.