American Celebrities in the Armed Forces - 1 Quiz

Answer: Swimming instructor in California

Clint Eastwood was drafted into the army in 1951 during the Korean War. He was sent to Fort Ord in California for basic training where he became a swimming instructor. He remained at Fort Ord after training, and stayed there until his discharge. Eastwood was discharged in 1953, and attended L.A. City College and studied drama under the GI Bill. The rest is history.

Answer: False

Chuck Norris was actually a member of the US Air Force and was deployed to Osan Air Base, South Korea in 1958. There, he was an Air Policeman. It was also there that he took up an interest in martial arts. When he was discharged from the Air Force in 1962, he returned to California where he continued with the interest in martial arts that had begun in Korea.

In 1997, Norris reached a milestone when he was the first man ever in the western hemisphere to be awarded an 8th degree Black Belt Grand Master recognition in the Tae Kwon Do martial arts system.

Answer: Mr. T

After attending Prairie View A&M University on a football scholarship, Mr. T was expelled from school so he decided to enlist in the Army in the mid-1970s. In 1975, he received a letter of recommendation from his drill sergeant, and was elected "Top Trainee of the Cycle" and promoted to Squad Leader.

In 1976, he was punished by his Platoon Sergeant, and ordered to cut down trees during a training camp at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. However, the sergeant did not specify how many trees were to be cut down. Three-and-a-half hours and seventy trees later, he was relieved of this detail.

He left the Army in the late 70s and went on to become a bouncer, bodyguard, then the celebrity that we know today.

Answer: National Guard

Tom Selleck was drafted during the Vietnam War in 1967. He joined the California National Guard in the 160th infantry regiment, and served until he was discharged in 1973. He rose to the rank of sergeant and served six months of active duty before returning to civilian life where he pursued his acting career.

As a proud veteran, Selleck has volunteered for multiple public service announcements about the National Guard's contributions to the US. He is also a spokesperson for the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Fund.

Answer: Colour blindness

Paul Newman enrolled in the Navy's V-12 pilot training program at Yale University, but was unable to complete the training when it was discovered that he was colour blind. Instead, he was trained as a radioman and rear gunner. He saw action in the Pacific in a variety of roles including as a a turret gunner in an Avenger torpedo bomber, training pilots on aircraft carrier landings, and as a radioman-gunner.

At one point, his pilot was grounded by an earache. The entire crew remained grounded with him.

Other members of his squadron flew to another aircraft carrier where there was a kamikaze strike, but Newman was saved because he was grounded in the original location with his pilot. Paul Newman left the Navy after the war.

Answer: True

Charles Bronson enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943 where he served as an aircraft gunner in the 760th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron until 1945. At that point, he became a Superfortress crewman with the 39th Bombardment Group, based on Guam. There, he was assigned to a B-29 bomber, and flew on 25 missions. Before he left the forces in 1946, he was injured in action and received the Purple Heart medal for his sacrifice.

Answer: Navy

Robert Stack is known for his many dramatic and comedy roles in movies and television. His career started at Universal Studios in 1939 with the film "First Love". When WWII broke out, he enlisted and served as an Aerial Gunnery Officer and gunnery instructor in the United States Navy.

He resumed his acting career after the war, completing over forty movies and over ten television shows before his death in 2003.

Answer: Drew Carey

After a relatively unsuccessful time at university, Drew Carey enlisted into the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1980. He served for six years before moving on with his career in comedy and acting. While enlisted, he acted as a field radio operator in the 25th Marine Regiment in Ohio where he is originally from.

When he left the military, Carey kept the close-cropped military style haircut that has become one of his trademarks.

Answer: False

Kristofferson's father was in the military, so when he graduated from Oxford after having received a Rhodes Scholarship, he enlisted in the US Army in 1960. He attained the rank of Captain while becoming a helicopter pilot. When he was offered a position at West Point teaching literature, he turned it down and left the Army in 1965. From there, he focused on his music and created many hits of the late 1960s.

Answer: Art Carney

Despite having over 100 acting credits, Carney is best known for his role as Ed Norton in "The Honeymooners". He was drafted into the US Army when he graduated from high school. He served as an infantryman and machine gun crewman and was in the 28th Infantry Division. During the Battle of Normandy he was wounded in the leg by shrapnel.

The injury caused his right leg to be 3/4 of an inch shorter than the left leg. This resulted in his having to walk with a limp for the rest of his life.