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40 Insights into the Lives of Famous War Veterans

Khalid Elhassan July 13, 2019 26 min

1. Josephine Baker earned a military funeral for her WWII exploits

Josephine Baker sporting her war medals during the 1963 March on Washington. Washington Post

Josephine Baker also hid fugitives in her home, supplying them with fake IDs and visas. Later in the war, she joined the French Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, in which she was commissioned as a lieutenant, and also performed for Allied troops. In recognition of her wartime exploits and contributions to France, she was named a Chevalier of the Legion d’honeur by Charles de Gaulle, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Medal of Resistance with Rosette. Upon her death in 1975, Baker became the first American woman buried with military honors in France, including a gun salute.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Alter Net, December 28^th, 2018 – Josephine Baker‘s Secret Life as a WWII Spy

Bronx Pinstripes – On This Day in History: Yogi Berra Takes Part in D-Day

Cooper Toons – Did George Washington Really Tell Henry Knox to ‘Shift That Fat Ass’?

Defense Media Network – Actor Clark Gable Served in Uniform, Flew Combat Missions in WWII

Encyclopedia Britannica – David Niven

History Net – Mr. Stewart Goes to War

Military Dot Com – Famous Veterans: Ernest Borgnine

Military Dot Com – Famous Veterans: Johnny Carson

Ranker – The Most Beloved US Veterans

Reel Rundown – Kirk Douglas: 9 Amazing Things About Hollywood‘s Favorite ‘Spartacus’

Smithsonian Magazine, March 22^nd, 2017 – The Mime Who Saved Kids From the Holocaust

Smoking Gun – Lenny Bruce‘s Gay Naval Ruse

Task Force Baum – The Hammelburg Raid

Vintage News – More Than 30 Years Before ‘Star Wars’, Sir Alec Guinness Was a WWII Landing Craft Hero

We Are the Mighty – Patton Once Sent 300 Men to Rescue His Son-in-Law From a Nazi Prison

Wikipedia – Lee Marvin

Wikipedia – Yogi Berra

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.