Warbird Information Exchange

there are plenty of old hollywood actors who served in military aviation in ww 2, both army airforce & u.s. navy aviation. let's get the high profile ones out of the way & go for the more obscure facts...... we know of james stewart & clark gable for starters, they are freebies!!!! we'll start here...... walter matthau was a b-24 gunner, charlton heston was a naval aviation gunner, & the list goes on.........?????

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Ok Tom, I'll bite:

Dan Rowan of the old Rowan & Martin Laugh-In TV show.

P-38 pilot, DFC & cluster, shot down over New Guinea.

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Jackie Coogan was in the Army, don't know what he did though..
Hedy Lamarr developed the frequency hopping guidence system, originally for torpedos.

My two cents,

Donald Pleasance - RAF pilot, ETO
Charles Bronson - AAC tail gunner
Brian Keith - AAC tail gunner, PTO
Tyrone Power - Marine pilot, PTO, ace w/six "kills"

Adding to what Tom mentioned earlier:
James Stewart - B-24 pilot, w/20 missions, ETO
Clark Gable - Waist gunner, w/17 missions, ETO
Charlton Heston - AAC sergeant

Cheers,

Amado

Gene Roddenberry was an AAF pilot, although there seems to be some confusion as to what he actually flew and where. I have seen him listed as having flown B-17s or B-24s in the pacific, and also as having flown C-46s or C-47s in the 8th Air Force.

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Dan Johnson

"Wheezer" from the "Little Rascals" killed in pilot training.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg ... 20Hutchins

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-Bill
B-17E 41-2595 "Desert Rat" Restoration Team

Actually 2Lt Dan H. David of the 8th FS 49th Fg scored 2 kills flying a P-40N over New Guinea. I don't believe he was ever shot down.
Clark Gable flew only a couple missions.
Lt Bert 'Wayne" Morris scored 7 kills in VF-15 flying from the Essex.
Tyronne Power wasn't an ace. He flew transports and was a ferry pilot.
Ed McMahon flew Corsairs in the USMC.
Tom Poston was a C-47 crewman and was shot down over Europe.
Ed Kemmer aka Buzz Corey commander of Space Patrol flew P-51s in the 363rd FG.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Quote:
Dan Rowan of the old Rowan & Martin Laugh-In TV show.
P-38 pilot, DFC & cluster, shot down over New Guinea.

Actually 2Lt Dan H. David of the 8th FS 49th Fg scored 2 kills flying a P-40N over New Guinea. I don't believe he was ever shot down.

But Jack, I found it on the internet...it's just gotta' be true!

(When will I ever learn? Thanks for clearing it up.)

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Isn't that like reading it in the paer or listening to the gosip at the airport?

2Lt Russell Johnson was a B-25J navigator in the 100th BS 42nd BG and was shot down and wounded off the Philippines. He and all but 1 gunner from his crew and 2 other crews were picked by OA-10 "Snafu Snatcher" flown by Lt Frank Rauschkalb of the 2nd ERS 13th AF while under heavy fire. Rauschkold was awarded the DSC in what was considered the most daring rescue mission of WWII. Imagine water taxing a Cat for miles under constant artillery fire while stopping and picking up 18 wounded men while the crew plugged the holes with anything them could find! The AFM Cat is painted in in the markings of Rausckalb's a/c.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Indian-born actor Sabu Dastagir was a ball (or tail) turret gunner in a B-24 in the Pacific. Ed McMahon stated in his autobiography that he was an instructor pilot in Corsairs in WWII, then flew L-19s on artillery spotting missions in the Korean War.

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

No hollywood for this guy but he was on TV quite a bit in the 70's and early 80's.

Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys coach and former 8AF co-pilot, crash landed after 30 missions.

regards,

t~

Burgess Meredith, from what I remember flew B-25's in italy.

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Long Live the N3N-3 "The Last US Military Bi-Plane" 1940-1959
Badmouthing Stearmans on WIX since 2005

For the really obscure and tentative connection...IIRC...

"Gentleman Johnny" Bunch, who was conductor and pianist for Tony Bennett for several years flew with the 8th (B17s??) in ETO and was interviewed for several post-war documentaries about his combat experience.

Wasn't actor Sterling Hayden with the OSS? (I know, not a pilot/air crew.)

Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.

Tim Landers