4. While Everybody Seemed to Rush to Serve During WWII, John Wayne Rushed to Avoid Serving
Stagecoach’s success secured John Wayne a place in Hollywood. By 1941, while not yet among top drawer elites such as Gary Cooper or Jimmy Stewart, Wayne had established himself as a reliable star. Then late that year, came the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. John Wayne’s conduct during the ensuing conflict forever after shaped his self-image and self-perception of his manhood. His reaction to and regrets about what he did – or more accurately did not do – during the war, shaped the public image he strove to project for the rest of his life.
America’s entry into WWII triggered the greatest collective outpouring of patriotism in the country’s history. It seemed that just about everybody and their grandmother wanted to chip in, do their part, and sacrifice what they could for the common cause of victory. As the United States armed and geared up to beat plowshares into swords, women rushed to the factories, and men of fighting age rushed into the service. John Wayne, by contrast, rushed to do everything he could to avoid serving in the military.
Unknown Facts about John Wayne: