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Many renowned personalities have answered the call of duty when their nations needed them. While some stories are widely recognized, like Ernest Hemingway using his wartime experiences to write A Farewell to Arms, or Elvis Presley enlisting in the US Army at the peak of his fame, there are countless other tales of distinguished soldiers who later became famous for other achievements.
10. Desmond Llewelyn
Desmond Llewelyn is best remembered as the legendary Q from the James Bond films, outfitting Agent 007 with an array of high-tech gadgets. He appeared in 17 Bond movies, outlasting even the actors who portrayed Bond. But long before he became the mastermind behind MI6's gadget lab, Llewelyn served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers during World War II.
Llewelyn was attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London when war broke out. He enlisted in the Fusiliers, an infantry regiment, eventually rising to the rank of second lieutenant. In 1940, while on assignment in France, he was captured by German forces and became a prisoner of war until 1945. Much of his captivity was spent in Colditz, a notorious castle repurposed as a POW camp for soldiers known for attempting escapes from other camps.
Despite its notorious reputation, Colditz Castle saw a surprising number of escape attempts that succeeded. In response, the Germans employed brutal tactics to deter such attempts, hoping to wear down the prisoners mentally and physically.
Llewelyn recalled surviving on spoiled potatoes and whatever scraps the prisoners could scrounge from the trash. It was common for soldiers to lose a significant amount of weight. Even light physical activity, like climbing a few stairs, could cause them to faint.
9. Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra, a Baseball Hall of Famer, is as famous for his legendary career with the New York Yankees as he is for his witty, unforgettable one-liners. However, many overlook his remarkable military service during World War II.
In 1943, Berra was a 17-year-old playing for the Norfolk Tars in the minor leagues, on the brink of joining the majors. Instead, he enlisted in the US Navy and played a crucial role in the Normandy Invasion. As a gunner’s mate, he was aboard the USS Bayfield on D-Day, the flagship for the Utah Beach landing.
Yogi Berra was a “rocketboat man,” a term used in the navy to describe the crew members aboard the fast gunships that played a pivotal role during D-Day. This top-secret and highly perilous mission required specialized training. Yogi volunteered simply because he was drawn to the word “rocket.”
At first, Berra had no idea where the mission would take him. After completing his training in England, he thought he was heading to Japan. But on June 6, 1944, he found himself aboard a gunship with a six-man crew, attacking Utah Beach. Equipped with rockets and machine guns, the rocketboats were tasked with diverting enemy fire away from the Allied forces and neutralizing enemy aircraft.
Berra was repeatedly targeted by enemy fire but miraculously escaped unharmed. His courage was recognized with multiple commendations for bravery. Just a few years ago, he was honored with the prestigious Bob Feller Act of Valor Award.
8. Bob Ross
Bob Ross is most remembered for his PBS show, The Joy of Painting. His calming voice and signature ‘fro captivated millions of viewers who tuned in to watch him paint “happy little trees,” even though many of them never intended to pick up a paintbrush themselves.
Many of his fans might be shocked to learn that Bob Ross had a long career in the US Air Force. He enlisted at 18, starting as a technician, and eventually rose to the rank of sergeant. As Ross himself put it, he was the person who would make you “scrub the latrine, the one who made sure your bed was made, the one yelling at you for being late to work.”
Being strict and commanding was part of the job, but it wasn't something Ross particularly relished. He vowed that if he ever found a career outside of military life, he would never raise his voice again.
The Air Force gave him that chance by assigning him to Alaska. It was there, far from his native Florida, that Bob Ross saw snow and mountains for the first time, and it sparked his passion for painting.
He honed his signature quick painting technique so that he could create between his breaks, and his landscapes were in such high demand that they sold as quickly as he could paint them. This success convinced Ross that a career in art was achievable, prompting him to retire after 20 years with the rank of master sergeant.
7. Roger Aytoun
Roger Aytoun, famously known as “Spanking Roger,” was an 18th-century soldier and local hero in Manchester, renowned for his fondness for drinking and brawling. Today, both Aytoun Street and the Spanking Roger Pub bear his name as a tribute to his legacy.
Aytoun accumulated wealth after marrying Barbara Minshull, a wealthy widow who gifted him a large estate known as Hough Hall. He caught her attention during one of the annual Kersal Moor races.
It was customary for male participants to race in the nude. Roger’s imposing, 6'4” (193 cm) frame captivated the heiress, and the couple married shortly after. As the tale goes, Aytoun was so intoxicated at their wedding that his friends had to keep him upright.
His nickname, “Spanking Roger,” was derived from his passion for bare-knuckle boxing. When he arrived in Manchester as part of the Scottish Dragoons, another tale suggests that he often made a wager with his opponents: if they lost, they were required to enlist in the Dragoons. Roger frequently emerged victorious.
Spanking Roger’s fondness for drinking didn’t hinder his prowess as a soldier. He fought valiantly during the Siege of Gibraltar, where he earned the rank of captain and commanded his own regiment. However, after the war, he returned to Manchester and didn’t hesitate to drink away his entire fortune.
6. J.D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger, widely known by his pen name J.D. Salinger, was the American author most famous for his immensely popular and controversial novel The Catcher in the Rye. His experiences during World War II deeply impacted him, as well as the novel’s protagonist, Holden Caulfield.
Before the war, Salinger had tried to publish various short stories, including his first featuring Holden Caulfield, “Slight Rebellion off Madison.” While initially published as a separate work, this story would later evolve into a chapter of Salinger’s iconic novel, though the portrayal of Holden in the novel differed significantly.
Those closest to Salinger knew that he struggled with PTSD for much of his life. The war had profoundly shaped both his writing and his character Holden, who was essentially a reflection of the author himself.
Serving with the US 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Division, Salinger participated in some of World War II’s most brutal battles, including the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge. He also fought on Utah Beach during D-Day.
After the Normandy Invasion, Salinger marched into a liberated Paris and had his sole pleasant war experience—drinking at the Ritz with one of his literary idols, Ernest Hemingway, who was working as a war correspondent. Following this, Salinger’s fluency in German and French led to his transfer to counterintelligence, where he worked as a POW interrogator. He completed his military service as a staff sergeant.
5. Billy Butlin
The name Billy Butlin might not be familiar outside the UK, but to the British, he’s a household name associated with holiday camps that became a key part of British culture. After years of running traveling fairs and amusement parks, Billy opened the first Butlin’s Holiday Camp in 1936 near Skegness, Lincolnshire. Over time, he expanded, turning his holiday camps into a thriving empire.
He took a hiatus during World War II, with many of his camps being converted into shore establishments for the Royal Navy. Butlin also offered his assistance to the Ministry of Supply, helping to boost morale among munitions factory workers. For his efforts, Butlin was awarded an MBE after the war. However, his most notable military service came in World War I, where he served in the bantam battalions.
At the onset of the war, the standard enlistment requirement was that men be at least 160 centimeters (5’3″) tall. Eventually, short soldiers were grouped together into special battalions, known as bantam battalions, and they earned a reputation for their bravery and intensity, with many of these men feeling they had something to prove to the taller soldiers.
One particular battalion from Glasgow was dubbed the “Devil Dwarfs” because of their fierce reputation. Butlin, being of short stature, served in one of these bantam battalions after falsifying his age. He was only 15 when he enlisted.
4. Blaine Sexton
Blaine Nathaniel Sexton was an early pioneer in the world of hockey. Starting his career with the Windsor Swastikas in Canada, he eventually made the move to England. There, he earned recognition from contemporary newspapers as one of the top players in Europe for nearly two decades.
In 1950, Sexton was inducted into the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. Today, he is seen as a key figure in popularizing the sport across the United Kingdom and all of Europe.
Of course, this might not have unfolded the way it did had Sexton not served in World War I. When the war broke out, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was deployed to England in 1916 as an infantry officer. After being wounded twice on the frontlines, Sexton was reassigned to the cavalry, where he eventually became the army saber champion.
While stationed in the UK, Sexton met and wed an Englishwoman. After the war, they relocated to Canada, but she eventually convinced him to settle in the UK for good. There, Sexton won a bronze medal for the British hockey team at the 1924 Winter Olympics and went on to form his own team, the London Lions.
3. Art Kane
Art Kane was a renowned fashion and music photographer who reached the height of his success in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He captured some of the most iconic portraits of the era, featuring the leading musicians of the time.
Arguably his most famous photograph is A Great Day in Harlem, taken in 1958. This image, resembling a school portrait, featured 57 of the greatest jazz musicians of all time.
Before his career as a photographer took off, Kane also served his country during World War II. He used his artistic abilities as part of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops—more famously known as the Ghost Army.
At the time, Kane was attending Cooper Union when he was drafted. Already an accomplished artist, he volunteered for a camouflage battalion, expecting to be assigned to paint jungle patterns on vehicles or similar mundane tasks.
However, the army had different plans for him. The Ghost Army was a tactical deception unit tasked with misleading the enemy through the use of actors, fake radio transmissions, sound trucks, inflatable tanks, and various other techniques.
Kane was part of a team that served as decoys, diverting enemy artillery away from advancing American forces. The Ghost Army carried out numerous successful deception operations and was considered a success, though some of its operations remain classified to this day.
2. Charles Older
Charles Older was a prominent figure within legal circles. He had a distinguished 20-year tenure on the bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court after being appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1967.
Older achieved national attention in 1970 when he oversaw one of the most significant legal cases in U.S. history—the Manson trials. At that time, he had only been on the Superior Court for a few years, but was assigned the case after Charles Manson filed an affidavit of prejudice against the original judge, William Keene.
Throughout the trial, Older had to manage many unusual challenges, including a media frenzy, constant interview requests, the defendants’ chanting during proceedings, and even a physical altercation from Charles Manson. However, these distractions were unlikely to unsettle him, as Older was not only a legal authority but also one of America’s top flying aces.
When World War II began, Older received flight training in the US Navy before serving in Marine Fighting Squadron One. Eventually, he joined the American Volunteer Group, commonly known as the 'Flying Tigers.'
The Flying Tigers were a group of American pilots who were enlisted into the Chinese Air Force. After their training in Burma, they were deployed to defend China against Japanese forces. They were sent into action shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Older became one of the squadron’s top aces with 10 victories. After returning to the US, Older rejoined the Air Force and went back to China with a new squadron, where he nearly doubled his victory total, ending with 18.25 victories.
1. Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence, the actor, is most famously recognized for his portrayal of psychiatrist Sam Loomis in the Halloween horror franchise. He also became known for his role as the first on-screen version of the iconic Bond villain, Ernst Blofeld. However, his most critically acclaimed role was as Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe (nicknamed “The Forger”) in The Great Escape.
Pleasence’s portrayal of a prisoner of war in The Great Escape mirrored his own real-life experiences from World War II. As a pacifist, he initially chose to be a conscientious objector and worked in the lumber industry to support the war effort. Eventually, he changed his stance and enlisted in the Royal Air Force.
As a member of a bomber crew, Pleasence successfully completed 60 missions over German territory. However, his luck eventually ran out. In 1944, his aircraft was shot down over France, and Pleasence was captured and taken to Stalag Luft I, a POW camp near Barth. For the next year, he endured both mental and physical torment at the hands of the brutal Nazi guards, until Russian forces liberated the camp.
Two decades later, Pleasence drew from his harrowing wartime experiences to assist director John Sturges on the set of The Great Escape. Though Sturges initially dismissed him, Pleasence eventually became a valued advisor after Sturges learned of his real-life history as a POW.
