American Celebrities in the Armed Forces - 3 Quiz

Answer: Bea Arthur

Bea Arthur (née Frankel) was born in 1922, so when WWII broke out, she was a young woman who wanted to do her part to help the American war effort. The United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve was developed and authorized by Franklin Roosevelt in 1942. Arthur joined up soon after.

She attended basic training and was assigned as a typist in Washington, D.C. She requested a transfer in 1943 when she became a truck driver in North Carolina for the remainder of the war. After attaining the rank of staff sergeant, she received an honourable discharge in 1945.

Answer: Submarine tender

Curtis joined the US Navy in 1943, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. He served the next three years aboard the submarine tender U.S.S. Proteus. He reported that he was on the bridge of his ship watching as the Japanese surrendered in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.

After receiving an honourable discharge, he studied drama at college on the GI Bill where he studied with future co-star Walter Matthau. When he passed away in 2010, he was buried with full military honours.

Answer: Harvard

Jack Lemmon attended Harvard in the early 1940s. While there, he took part in the Navy's officer training program that was known as V-12 Navy College Training Program. There was a similar program for the US Army. Students in the programs completed courses towards their degrees while also receiving training to become officers in the armed forces.

The programs were designed to encourage young men to attend school while also providing the armed forces with a pool of personnel to use if needed. Jack Lemmon left his studies for a brief stint on the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain during the war.

He returned to Harvard and graduated in 1947 with a major in War Service Sciences.

Answer: No

James Earl Jones took part in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program when he studied for his degree at the University of Michigan from 1951-1955. The Korean War was raging at the beginning of his studies, but had ended in 1953, at which point Jones had received a commission as a second lieutenant.

The ROTC program required service while he studied. Since the Korean War had ended when he reported for duty, he was part of the unit that developed a cold-weather training station in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. During his time there, he was promoted to lieutenant before being honourably discharged in 1955 when he completed his degree.

Answer: Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch, but grew up using the name Izzy Demsky, a name he modelled after another relative who had immigrated to the US before his family. He started using the name Kirk Douglas when he was acting in plays while at college, then legally changed it to that moniker before he joined the Navy in 1941.

He served aboard USS PC-1139 which was a ship that was engaged in anti-submarine warfare. He was given a medical discharge in 1944 after he was injured when a depth charge prematurely exploded.

Answer: Brigadier General

Jimmy Stewart had begun his acting career before WWII broke out. He starred in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in 1939, and "The Philadelphia Story" in 1940, for which he won his only Best Actor Oscar. He put his career on pause and joined the Army Air Corps in 1941, shortly after the US entered the war.

He already had a private pilot's license, so his choice of which branch of the armed forces to serve must have made sense. He was engaged in fighting on the European front for the duration of the war, during which time he achieved the rank of colonel.

When the war ended, he remained in the US Air Force Reserve where he was eventually promoted to brigadier general. During his career in the Air Force, he earned a number of awards, and when he retired from the reserve forces in 1968, he was awarded the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

Answer: Alaska

In 1942, Japanese forces invaded some of the islands in the Aleutian chain off the coast of Alaska, but still part of the United States. The US responded by sending troops to other islands in the area to protect US soil. Heston was stationed on one of the islands when he joined the forces in 1944.

He spent his time there as a radio operator and aerial gunner. Although he never saw combat, he was injured during his time in the armed forces. A military plane got caught in a crosswind during a landing and crashed at his base one day.

Heston was not on board the plane, but as he ran to the accident site to assist, he was hit by an ambulance. He was injured and sent to a hospital. After he recovered enough to work, he was transferred to Elmendorf Field on the mainland of Alaska where he worked in the radio tower.

He was discharged in March 1946, still limping and recuperating from his injuries.

Answer: Troop entertainer

Don Knotts joined the US Army in 1943. Before then, he had tried to start his career as an entertainer in New York, but had had no success. Instead, he decided to attend school. He spent one year at West Virginia University before joining the armed forces.

There, he was assigned to a variety show called "Stars and Gripes" that performed in the Pacific theatre. The show was designed to entertain the troops, lighten their moods, and take their minds off the war that was going on around them. Knotts was discharged from the Army in 1946 at the rank of Technician Fifth Grade.

He returned to university and completed his degree at that time.

Answer: Yes

James Garner joined the United States Merchant Marines when he dropped out of high school in 1944. It was only then that he discovered that he suffered from chronic sea sickness. When the Korean War broke out, he had been a member of the California National Guard for seven months, but then he was drafted into the Army and went to fight on the front lines in Korea.

He was a rifleman in the 5th Regimental Combat Team when he was injured twice. He earned two Purple Heart medals for his injuries. He also earned the WWII Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, and the United Nations Korea Medal for his services in the armed forces over the years.

Answer: Navy

Rickles joined the Navy when he graduated from high school in 1944. He served in the Pacific aboard the USS Cyrene, a torpedo boat. Most of his service time was spent in the Philippines. He reached the rank of seaman first class before his 1946 discharge.