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Summary
Companion to the popular Stars in Blue: Move
Actors in America's Sea Services by the same authors, this book is filled
with more than thirty celebrity profiles
of motion picture stars who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from World War I through
Vietnam. Many readers will discover for the first time the contributions to the
Corps of such actors as Steve McQueen, Gene Hackman, Harvey Keitel, Brian Dennehy,
Hugh O'Brian, and Ed McMahon, and the heroic actions of Marines like Sterling
Hayden, Brian Keith, Dale Dye, and Lee Marvin.
Best remembered for his Academy Award-winning
portrayals of iconoclastic film characters, Marvin played the most important role
of his life in World War II. One of many surprises in this book is a description
of his heroism as a member of the 4th Marine Division during the invasion of Saipan.
Another is the fact that Marvin chose to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery
with a simple marker identifying him only as a Marine, not a movie star. Sterling
Hayden, a well-known move star before World War II, changed his name upon commissioning
to conceal his move identity. An experienced seaman and parachutist and a graduate
of a British commando training school, he joined the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) and aided Marshal Tito's partisans in their guerrilla warfare against the
Germans, winning a Silver Star for rescuing pilots behind enemy lines. Dale Dye,
a twice-wounded Vietnam veteran and Bronze Star recipient, has appeared in numerous
war moves and become a respected technical advisor to Steven Spielberg, whose
blockbuster Saving Private Ryan showcased Dye's acting and advising abilities.
Dashing leading man Tyrone Power joined
the enlisted ranks or the Corps and went on to receive his
commission and aviator wings, logging hundreds of hours as a command transport
pilot in Pacific combat zones. Harvey Keitel, whose long list of movie credits
includes Taxi Driver and Pulp Fiction, joined the Marines at seventeen and served
in Beirut, earning his high school equivalency diploma and developing a love of
books in the Corps. Hugh O'Brian, known worldwide for his TV portrayal of Wyatt
Earp and to movie buffs as John Wayne's close friend and last costar, became one
of the Corps's youngest drill instructors. Rebel Steve McQueen learned to love
the disciplined life of a Marine and developed skills that served him well in
his civilian racing career.
Accompanied by some never-before-published
photographs, many of these revealing profiles are based on recent interviews with
the stars or their families and friends. Battle reports, unit diaries, and personnel
records were consulted to authenticate the details of their military careers.
Filled with little-known facts and fascinating tidbits of information, this book
will delight and inform the staunchest Marine supporter and most avid movie fan.
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