Don’t ever trust a man who doesn’t like john wayne.... how the duke saved the corps

brownshoe- History is a real....? SWO's with 14 inch thick torpedoes running the Navy. At least in our mid 20th century patriotic movies.

My God I wish it were true. Instead we have sexual diversity training. I weep too.

My thoughts exactly!! I think we had fighting sailors in WWII (officers & EM). What we have today is something different. I think half the problem today is that a blackshoe officer (110X) can never lead any combat activity unless he's at least a 10-yr LCDR. Diversity training does not win wars. It does, however, emasculate lots of potential warriors.

Of course not. A 1100 is pretty much the most useless designator in the Navy.

How can no one bring up Flying Leathernecks? The Duke flying a fighter at Guadalcanal... he was an Air Warrior in that movie!

I'd also throw a 'half-vote' to Flying Tigers, more so because I just love the P-40 with that paint scheme!

Wayne was too tough on Robert Ryan in Flying Leathernecks. In Flying Tigers he was, unfortunately, an Army puke.

throw in island in the sky, too.

I resent that remark. =)

Unless they got the facts wrong, not quite. He would have been a mercenary, officially sanctioned by the US government of course.......

Sorry. No offense to the real Army intended. I should have said "The Group formerly known as the Army Air Corps"

Nah, you didn't offend me. I re-read my post, and I do sound a bit "hurt" by it. Anyways,... :icon_zbee

John Wayne, nee' Marion Morrison, died 32 years ago today, June 10, 2011. FWIW. Tempus fugit.

Speaking of old, dead, man's man actors: I just re-watched the Sand Pebbles today.

I pretty sure Steve McQueen could take the Duke, any day of the week.

(He was also a pilot and a Marine in real life.)

I always wanted to be like Steve McQueen when I became an adult, and like John Wayne when I got old, as a kid.

Nowhere close on either. Dammit.

As a kid, I wanted to be like Tony Hawk when I grew up.

Since I haven't grown up yet, I'm still working on it.

43 Year old with Skateboard Not Fooling Anyone

Yeah McQueen was a brig rat too. And he'd never have taken the Duke....guaranteed. On an interesting note, when the Sands of Iwo Jima did its intermountain premier in Salt Lake City, my old man was the senior USMC NCO for the intermountain recruiting district and got involved heavily in the whole thing. There was a Republic Studios party in which the local and corporate people attended. My old man, a MSgt at the time, was there and he and the Duke were matching drinks. At some point in the evening, my old man invited the Duke to the house for dinner and damned if he didn't take him up on it! So, the next evening, there we were, standing in line waiting for John Wayne in our living room. He showed up, we ate and he left. Me, my sister, and two younger brothers were all in shock and awe and it was a blur. A few days later we got a photo that I have never seen anywhere else with the Duke in uniform as Sgt Stryker. It is autographed "To the Kemp Kids - from - John Wayne"
I have the 11X14 hanging on the wall and have made a copy but don't know how to post it with this message.
Some 20 years later in Van Nuys, a friend of mine came in and asked if I could fly with him as a co-pilot for a charter in his Turbo Commander. I said sure and asked who was the party. He said he was taking John Wayne to Orange County. I told him of the dinner deal and he said I was full of shit. So, when the Duke showed up, he shook hands with us and was gracious and friendly. I told him the last time we met he was having dinner at our house in Salt Lake. He got a puzzled look while he digested that odd comment, then grinned and said..."The Marine Family" and shook my hand again. My friend looked shocked and never again questioned it when I said I knew someone.