John Kerry
John Kerry, the US politician who ran unsuccessfully for the United States president in 2004, also had a military career that took place in the Vietnam war. He originally joined the U.S. Navy but requested to be placed in a swift boat division, rapid boats that could travel up the Vietnamese rivers to disrupt the Vietcong supply lines. During his service he won one Silver star, one bronze star and three purple hearts. As he had been wounded three times he was allowed to be honourable discharge from the war early, but not before reaching the rank of Lieutenant. There was some controversy raised of his military career, but this was later to be found out to be fake news by the Republican Party during the 2004 presidential election.
James Garner
James Garner, whose real name was James Scott Bumgarner, was a prolific actor and award-winning Hollywood Star who also served in the Merchant Marines in the Korean War. He dropped out of high school during the tail end of World War II and lied about his age to join the Merchant Marines in supplying aid to Europe. After the war ended, he returned to finish high school before dropping out a second time to join the Oklahoma National Guard. As luck would have it, he was drafted to serve in the Korean War where he was awarded two purple hearts. He eventually left the army and moved back to California where he found his love of acting.
Harry Dean Stanton
Harry Dean Stanton is an American singer and musician who also dabbled in acting. He dropped out of college to study acting, but then World War II broke out and he immediately signed up for the United States Navy. During the war, he served in the battle of Okinawa (made famous by the desperate Japanese attempts with suicide bombers), where he was aboard a landing ship as a galley cook. He left the movie after the war to pursue journalism then switched to radio before finding a home on the stage.