What would John Wayne do?

Yeah, I know, John Wayne was an actor and a conservative icon. I’ve seen most of his old movies on TV in which he helped to win every war we’ve ever been in whether his character was in the army, navy, marines, or horse cavalry.

What if any of the characters he’d played had been sitting in front of congress for the past couple of days and asked, “Is this war making the United States safer?” Anyone who’s ever seen a John Wayne movie doesn’t need to puzzle over the answer. And it sure as hell wouldn’t have been, “I’ve never thought about it.”

The difference between John Wayne and most of today’s Republican politicians, (and those generals willing to lie for them), is that Wayne was an honest man. As a matter of fact, his honesty once got him in trouble with the right wing.

When the U.S. was getting ready to hand over the Panama Canal to Panama, the conservatives were calling it “treason.” Wayne went to Panama to see for himself, came back, and said that we didn’t need the canal. He found out that our aircraft carriers were too big to pass through it which made it virtually useless for military purposes.

The right-wing went bug shit, called him a commie dupe, brainwashed, and every other insult that was usually thrown at Dems. But Wayne stood by what he said and didn’t apologize to anyone for stating what he found to be the truth.

I have no doubt that most of today’s wingnuts worship Wayne. And I also have little doubt that they also would have been among those who condemned him over the Panama Canal incident. If only such people understood that the reason he’s one of their heroes is because of the integrity of virtually every on-screen character he played.

Too bad that, while watching Petraeus in front of congress, Republicans didn't ask themselves “What would John Wayne do?”

(“The Green Berets” was a film that glorified the Vietnam War. He definitely had a “My country right or wrong” mentality. But he wasn’t an ignorant man. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’d like to believe that, had he lived long enough, he would have realized that Vietnam was a mistake – and a crime.)

That little fact has always colored my view of the *itch.

John Wayne said well my man didn't win but i'll except Mr.Kennedy because he's my president. Spoken like a true patriot.

Peace!

His real name was Marion Morrison, BTW.... applied for relief from the draft by claiming his he was his mother's sole support. Even though he was a millionaire and he could have left her millions to live like a queen.

Typical Republican. Even most Republicans participated in WWII... except Marion.

He didn't do anything illegal to avoid service.

The Duke was 35 in 1941, and he received other deferments for family reasons as you mentioned and at the behest of his movie studio.

Not serving in WWII did in fact haunt him the rest of his life from every account I have read.

Clark Gable was 7 years olded than John/Marion/Duke and joined The AAC a flew in some bombing mission over Europe.

The thing that really kills me about Morrison/Wayne is his roll in the movie, The Longest Day, about the Normandy invasion visa a vie the roll played by Eddie Albert. Albert plays the roll of an officer who asks if the invasion should be called off due to much heavier opposition than anticipated. Albert's character is clearly the "weenie" of the movie and is met by a terse "Hell no," by some cigar chomping tough guy....perhaps Robert Mitchum. And Wayne is the airborne guy walking ahead with a "Compound Fracture" of the leg taped to his rifle. He's the tough guy.

In reality.... Eddie Albert was a Marine at Tarawa, the most horrible, disgusting, fucked up beach invasion of the war. He was a marine driving a DUK driving Marines to the beach and picking up body parts and returning them to the big ship.... back and forth. There's even a film of Albert, where you can clearly ID him driving his boat.

I puke every time I see that scumbag Republick, Wayne, in that movie especially also seeing Mr. Albert's part.

Albert was a real war hero. Wayne was a repuke, draft dogging scumbag.

Republicks named an airport after an actor because he played war hero parts.

The fact that they gave him the role of a "weenie" in that movie always pissed me off. He was the real thing, not a celluloid "hero."

:banghead: :banghead: :hangover:

I fear that you ascribe far too much nobility to that craven careerist. Do not confuse his carefully constructed persona with the true measure of the man.

But John Wayne couldn't be bothered. He found a way to wuss out. Then later he went around bad mouthing those who acted as he did.

Some of his movies are OK but I have no respect for him as a human being.

...another chickenhawk rethuglican actor...

volunteered for pilot training but was disqualified on the basis of poor eyesight. Wound up as an officer doing guess what? Making training films in Hollywood.

I'll grant you his service was pretty wussy but unlike "the duke" he at least TRIED to serve.

...I was unaware that he even "tried"...

:puke:

The chickenhawks loved him....

Tyrone Power joined the fucking Marines, fer crissakes. And he was gay!

Duke coulda served.

His gung-ho movies helped lead a generation into Vietnam.

Kwajalein, The Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa. He flew air transport at those very bad places. Read his bio on Wiki and his sexuality is in dispute. He had lots of girlfriends and wives as well as perhaps, others...... regardless he's another in contrast to John Wayne.... he did it in real life....

It's called "bisexual".

in that he died in '58 when I was 8 years old. Also, back then, those studios hushed up anything that could effect box office of their stars. Regardless, he was typical of Hollywood guys.... sans Wayne, he joined up. Also, unlike Ron Ray-gun, Powers had rough war duty.

Read he smoked 3-4 packs of cigs per day. That'll kill you.

And since he had nothing but contempt for progressive ideas I don't think he ever would have appeared in any movie that would have turned out the way you want it to.

But I haven't seen all his movies so I could be wrong. Most of what I know about him comes from a Playboy interview he did in the 70s where he glorifies exceptionally far-right positions and attitudes.

He might have been a Log Cabin Republican


Not that there's anything wrong with that.

"...and he come to the door in a dress."

It's true, you guys.

LOLOL - one a my favorite movies

:rofl: :rofl:

during Vietnam he was asked what he thought of Jane Fonda and he said he didn't agree with her, but he'd defend her right to say what she thought. That kind of irked the wingnuts back then.

Drank some more Jim Beam, called for a rewrite and hid out like a little girl. Fuck that son of a bitch, lets move on.

America's entry into World War II resulted in a deluge of support for the war effort from all sectors of society, and Hollywood was no exception. Established stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (USN, Silver Star), Henry Fonda (USN, Bronze Star), and Clark Gable (USAAC) as well as emerging actors such as Eddie Albert (USN, Bronze Star) and Tyrone Power (USMC) rushed to sign up for military service. As the majority of male leads left Hollywood to serve overseas, John Wayne saw his just-beginning stardom at risk. Despite enormous pressure from his inner circle of friends, he put off enlisting. Wayne was exempted from service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status, classified as 3-A (family deferment). Wayne's secretary recalled making inquiries of military officials on behalf of his interest in enlisting, "but he never really followed up on them."<20> He repeatedly wrote to John Ford, asking to be placed in Ford's military unit, but continually postponed it until "after he finished one more film."<21> Certainly Republic Studios had no interest in losing Wayne, especially after the loss of Gene Autry to the army.<22> Correspondence between Wayne and Herbert J. Yates (the head of Republic) indicates that Yates threatened Wayne with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract, though the likelihood of a studio suing its biggest star for going to war was minute.<23> The threat was real, but whether Wayne took it seriously or not, he did not test it. Selective Service Records indicate he did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but apparently Republic Pictures intervened directly, requesting his further deferment.<24> In May, 1944, Wayne was reclassified as 1-A (draft eligible), but the studio obtained another 2-A deferment (for "support of national health, safety, or interest").<25> He remained 2-A until the war's end. John Wayne clearly did not "dodge" the draft, in the sense of illegal or dishonest action, but he nonetheless never took direct positive action toward enlistment. Wayne was in the South Pacific theatre of the war for three months in 1943-'44, touring U.S. bases and hospitals as well as doing some "undercover" work for OSS commander William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan, who thought Wayne's celebrity might be good cover for an assessment of the causes for poor relations between General Douglas MacArthur and Donovan's OSS Pacific network. Wayne filed a report and Donovan gave him a plaque and commendation for serving with the OSS, but Wayne dismissed it as meaningless.<26>

The foregoing facts clearly influenced the direction of Wayne's later life. By all accounts, Wayne's failure to serve in the military during World War II was the most painful experience of his life.<27> Clearly, there were some other stars who, for various reasons, did not enlist. But Wayne, by virtue of becoming a celluloid war hero in several patriotic war films, became the focus of particular disdain from both himself and certain portions of the public, particularly in later years. The rampant patriotism with which he was so identified in the decades to come sprang, it appears, not from hypocrisy but from guilt. Wayne's third wife, Pilar, wrote, "He would become a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home."<28>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_wayne

He claimed he ws 4F for a knee problem, but that never stopped him from hopping on and off all of the horses in the movies he made.



Even the GOP "heroes" are chickensh%t.