answersLogoWhite

0

He wanted to very much. But by the time WWII rolled around Wayne was in his 40s and had four small children to provide for. So he did the next best thing. He made movies about the war which in part helped to keep the morale up on the homefront. He also went to the troops, shook a lot of hands and told the enlisted men how much America and the free world appreciated all they were doing to end the tyranny in Europe. They loved him. Wayne, whether you liked him or not, was not capable of insincerity. The soldiers knew it too.

Utter nonsense. Wayne sought to avoid the draft, the war, and the service, very hard, which is why he remains among veterans of that time, persona non grata. Even his best friend, John Ford, chided him for his evading service. Many believe that to compensate for his cowardice and selfishness, he played the "super-patriot" the rest of his life, making millions from a false front while REAL heroes, like Gable, and James Stewart, and DiMaggio, who had as much, if not MORE to lose, risked their lives and were genuine heroes.

He told friends he'd enlist after he made just one or two more movies.

The real question is why he never did so. Wayne cranked out thirteen movies during the war, many with war-related themes. Most of the films were enormously successful and within a short time, the Duke was one of America's most popular stars. His bank-ability now firmly established, he could have joined the military, secure in the knowledge that Hollywood would welcome him back later. He even made a half-hearted effort to sign up, sending in the paperwork to enlist in the naval Photography unit commanded by a good friend, director John Ford.

But he didn't follow through. Nobody really knows why; Wayne didn't like to talk about it.

User Avatar

Wiki User

7y ago

What else can I help you with?