Warbird Information Exchange

I had the TV on few minutes ago and that tabloid trash Entertainment Tonight was on. They were interviewing Ed McMahon, whom I remember from the original America's Funniest Home Videos show. Apparently his $5 million dollar mansion is about to be taken by the bank because he cannot sell it (mainly because Britney Spears lives nextdoor, yikes!).

As they were walking with him around his home in older file footage he mentioned he had been a Marine, and then they showed a painting of his image and two USMC Corsairs flying behind him.

Did he see service in WWII? Is he really that old?

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Edward Peter Leo McMahon, Jr. was born in Detroit Michigan in 1923. McMahon led a somewhat unhappy and nomadic childhood. His father traveled all over the country pursuing various financial ventures including carnival jobs and bingo games. Nevertheless, McMahon had a good lineage. His great-great-great-grandfather, the Duke of Magenta, was a marshal and president of France. The Duke's favorite sauce, named Macmahonaise in his honor, was later shortened to mayonnaise. McMahon's grandmother was the cousin of Rose Fitzgerald, mother of John F. Kennedy. Many of McMahon's summers were spent at his grandparent's in Lowell Massachusetts. McMahon's ambition was to be a radio announcer and had his first announcing job at the age of 15.

When the United States began gearing up for World War II, McMahon wanted to become a Marine fighter pilot. Since the Navy's V-5 program required two years of college, he enrolled in Boston College. When the Navy relaxed the two-year requirement, McMahon dropped out of school and signed up. In early 1943, he first went to a civilian-run Wartime Training School in Texarkana where the Navy evaluated cadets' potential by checking them out in a Piper Cub. Then came the three-month Preflight School at Athens, Georgia. McMahon received primary training at Dallas and intermediate training at Pensacola. McMahon received the single engine carrier syllabus and was assigned to the Marines. After receiving his commission and wings in early 1945, McMahon was sent to the Corsair Operational Training Unit at Lee Field, Green Cove Springs, Florida. Upon completion of training, he was "plowed back" and became an instructor in the same unit. On the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, McMahon received orders to join the Marine carrier program on the West Coast. His orders were cancelled and he returned to civilian life.

After McMahon graduated from Catholic University, he got a job in television in Philadelphia. In two years, he had become Philadelphia's top TV personality. In 1952, McMahon got his big break when he was offered a job in New York with CBS; however, he was recalled into the Marine Corps due to the Korean War. After several months of training at Miami and El Toro, McMahon arrived in Korea in February 1953. He flew 85 artillery-spotting missions in the Cessna OE Bird Dog before returning home in September 1953. McMahon returned to television in Philadelphia for several years. In 1958, he was hired as the announcer for Johnny Carson's Who Do You Trust? In 1962, Johnny Carson took over as host of The Tonight Show and took McMahon along as his announcer and sidekick. Carson and McMahon became an institution and remained on The Tonight Show for 6,583 programs over a 30-year period. Since retiring from The Tonight Show, McMahon has worked on several other TV shows and served as spokesman for various companies and charities. McMahon remained active in the Marine Reserves retiring as a full colonel in 1966
This was written by by M.L. Shettle, Jr. and comes from his United States Marine Corps Air Stations of World War II which is one nice book...

So no kidding, the guy was a Corsair pilot! So if Im on his show, I could call him "Col.". How awesome is that. I wish that more of our Hollywood, and Pro Athletes would join the military just like Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, and so forth. That's why they're the greatest generation.

The house also has a very serious mold issue!

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Bob Barker was also a Corsair Pilot.The war ended before he was assigned.

For those of you old enough to remember the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Johnny was always making references to Ed's Marine Corp service. I remember seeing it once in the late 70's or early 80's when Ed specifically mentioned that he had flown Corsairs and had retired as a Colonel. This was in contrast to Johnny who was in the Navy during W.W. II. From the following website, it states this about Johnny Carson's service:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914886/posts


It states:

"The king of late-night TV for over three decades, Johnny Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, on October 23, 1925. He was working as a theater usher when World War II began. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 8, 1943, as an apprentice seaman enrolled in the V-5 program, which trained Navy and Marine pilots.

He hoped to train as a pilot, but was sent instead to Columbia University for midshipman training. He performed magic for classmates on the side.

Commissioned an ensign late in the war, Carson was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania, a battleship on station in the Pacific. He was en route to the combat zone aboard a troopship when the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the war to a close."

I remember watching a classic Tonight Show with "Lonesome George" Goebel, the comedian, and Johnny was asking him about his being a pilot in WW2. He replied he was an instructor pilot in Oklahoma, and was proud to say "not one Japanese plane made it past Tulsa".
It put Johnny on the floor.

Those guys were the greatest, indeed.