Exactly 80 years since the end of the war: These actors served in World War II

After over five terrible years, the Second World War ended on May 8, 1945 in Europe due to the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht. Among the countless heroes in the ranks of the Allies, who freed the world from the Nazis, there are some names that were later to conquer Hollywood. One of them could only be registered with over 40 years and at a time in the military when he already held the status of a film legend.

In Hollywood, Kirk Douglas served on several war fronts. In “ways to fame”, for example in the First World War, “men – hard as iron” meanwhile played during the Korean war and “first victory” in the Second World War. He was able to incorporate personal experiences in the latter film, after all, the father of Michael Douglas had enrolled into the United States Navy shortly after the United States’ official entry in 1941. The birth of a film legend: When he entered, he changed his name Issur Danielowitsch Demsky in Kirk Douglas.

Director Peter Jackson told a morbid history as part of the “Lord of the Rings” turning work. So Altstar Christopher Lee informed him about the sound a person made with a knife. Lee therefore spoke from experience: The Brit went through some stations in the Royal Air Force during his military service in World War II, including several special units. He made it into the rank of the flight of the flight, which roughly corresponds to the German rank of the lieutenant of the Air Force.

Charlton Heston’s glowing commitment to the NRA (National Rifle Association) gave him criticism throughout his life, prominently in Michael Moore’s document “Bowling for Columbine”. Expertise could not be denied to the “Planet of the Affen” star: Heston served as a radio operator and on-board shooter of a bom during the Second World War.

The name Charles Bronson still stands for robust masculinity in Hollywood films. The “Play me the song of death” mime also served as a bomber on the bomber in the Second World War and, in contrast to the Heston stationed in Alaska, was also involved in fighting. Since he was also borrowed from injuries, he received the Purple Heart, the wounded badge of the United States forces.

Obi-Wan Kenobi also served in the Second World War: British actor Sir Alec Guinness started his military career from 1941 and initially in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He later commanded various landing ships, including during the Husky Operation, the Allied invasion of Sicily. One of the most famous films by Guinness also plays in World War II: the war drama “The Bridge am Kwai” from 1957, which was awarded eight Oscars. Guinness had received the Academy Award as the main actor for his performance in 1958.

A unique and tragic story led Clark Gable entering the military. Gable had long since been a celebrated Hollywood size, played in films such as “Gone from the Wind” and, thanks to “It happened in one night”, had been at home as the best leading actor since 1935. The death of his wife Carole Lombard changed everything: On January 16, 1942, the actress died in a plane crash, her journey hung together with the war – after the United States, she had used her star power to promote war bonds. In the year of his wife’s death and over 40, Gable started his military career. He served as a on -board shooter and photographer, flew combat missions and ended his service as a major after the end of the war in 1945.

Like his son Peter and his daughter Jane, Henry Fonda is considered an icon of the US film. There was a honorary oscar and a regular Academy Award for his work in the 1980s, and around 40 years earlier, Fonda voluntarily registered for the service in the United States Navy. At this point, Fonda was already in the end of 30 and a well -known name in the dream factory. In 1940 he had played in the strip “Fruits of anger”. As a non -commissioned officer, he was deployed a year after the United States’s entry into the war on the destroyer USS Satterlee. In the course of his military career, he developed the rank as an officer in the military intelligence service in the Pacific and received the bronze Star Medal, among other things.

In Hollywood, Mel Brooks is primarily known to make the world laugh with Klamau films such as “Robin Hood – heroes in tights” or “spaceballs”. Brooks himself got to know the horror of the war. In 1944 and when he was just 17, he was drawn in at the high school shortly after graduating. A few weeks later, Brooks was now of legal age, he belonged to the United States Army. A little later he found himself at the front in France, later Belgium and experienced the Ardennes offensive up close. “On the side of the road you could see corpses, wrapped in mattress references and stacked in a ditch, and these were Americans, I could be. I sang all the time … I never wanted to think about it.”