7 Hollywood Stars to Honor on Veterans Day

Beyond the realm of special effects and stagecraft, there are real-life heroes deserving of recognition, exemplified by Academy Award winners who have served in the Coast Guard, symbolized by their distinctive coast guard challenge coins, embodying their valor both on and off the screen. But there are several Academy Award winners you may call real heroes not only within a studio floor of the dream factory projects. 

The military uniforms they wore and the military experience they brought to the film industry speak louder than the titles of another Hollywood production project. These people have proved their mettle by serving their nation well without the help of stunt doubles. 

Here are seven world-recognized celebrities who were no strangers to the hardest job in the military to honor with gratitude on Veterans Day.

#1. Sir Sean Connery

Although sir Sean Connery grew tired of this role, to many fans he remains the first original James Bond and iconic secret agent. In 1987, the actor got two Academy Awards for his acting in The Untouchables and The Name of the Rose. Before breaking out as a Hollywood star, at the age of sixteen Sir Sean Connery joined the Armed Forces. 

While serving in the Royal Navy, he trained at the naval gunnery school, stationed at Portsmouth. After leaving the gunnery school as an anti-aircraft gunner, the Royal Navy sailor was posted to the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable. A duodenal ulcer had damaged his health and led to his discharge three years later.

#2. Adam Driver

A repeat collaborator of Jim Jarmusch Adam Driver won recognition from the public for the role of villain Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But before the actor began his stellar career, at the age of eighteen he joined the military right after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, to serve as a hero in uniform.

For two years and eight months, he was a member of the Marine Corps, assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. After suffering a mountain biking accident, he became medically discharged. Adam is also known as the founder of Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF), a nonprofit organization performing theater for all branches of the military within the United States and abroad.

#3. Morgan Freeman

In addition to the Oscar win with Million Dollar Baby in 1987, Freeman also received Oscar nominations for his performances in Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart, The Shawshank Redemption, and Invictus. But a winding road to Freeman’s current fame started from an invincible dream about flight. War films and episodes about fighter pilots made a hit with the future celebrity.

A strong desire to become a fighter pilot had made him turn down a scholarship for drama from Jackson State University and join the U.S. Air Force. He served in 1955-1959 as a radar technician until got the chance to train as a fighter pilot. By a twist of fate, his last military post in San Bernardino was just a short ride from LA where he moved to start his acting career.

#4. Clint Eastwood

We all remember Clint Eastwood as a brutal cowboy and a masculine cop. But his real background was more interesting than the scripts of the movies. His personal experience has brought him notable roles in the Western genre, the first contract with Universal Studios, as well as worldwide fame after playing in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and in Dirty Harry.

Drafted into the Army during Korean War, Eastwood was sent to Fort Ord, California. Basic training as a lifeguard got him lucked into a job as a swimming instructor. Eastwood remained in California to work as a projectionist of training films and a bouncer at the NCO club until his discharge in 1953.  

 #5. Chuck Norris

The commercial success of the Missing in Action film series, commemorated Norris’s younger brother died in Vietnam has brought fame to the actor. And it was the service in the US Air Forces that rose his interest in martial arts and gave him the nickname Chuck. Obtaining several black belts in Tang Soo Do led to developing his signature martial arts form of Universal Way or Chun Kuk Do.

In 1958 Norris joined the United States Air Force and was sent to South Korean Osan Air Base as an Air Policeman. After coming back to the United States, Chuck Norris carried his service on an AP at March Air Force Base in California until discharge in 1962. 

#6. Oliver Stone

Vietnam’s war, in which Oliver Stone had participated as an infantry soldier, took its toll in further film-making and screenwriting. Two of Oliver Stone's signature films Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July were directly contributed to his combat experience and wounds received.

Stone enlisted in the US Army in 1967 to request combat duty in Vietnam. He served with the 25th Infantry and the 1st Cavalry Divisions. For his service, he was honored with a Bronze Star with a “V” device for heroism in ground combat, a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal for taking part in 25+ helicopter combat assaults, and the Army Commendation Medal. 

#7. Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks is one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s, the legend of the comedy genre, and a proud owner of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony award. He used to say that a lot of his comedy was based on anger and hostility. 

After the completion of the Army Specialized Training Program, 17-year-old Melvin Kaminsky went on service in the US Army to the 1104 Engineer Combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division. As a combat engineer, he defused land mines during World War II. Mel Brooks also fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was discharged as a corporal.