A cultural icon and a terrific American actor.
John Wayne epitomized the idealized American values of his era and personified the image of the silent, powerful cowboy or soldier.
However, his legacy is debatable, and in recent years, a growing number of people have questioned John Wayne’s macho on- and off-screen attitude.
One thing in particular infuriated people even at the height of John Wayne’s fame: the fact that he did not fight in World War II.
It may surprise you to learn that we now know the reason why.

More over 16 million Americans fought in the US military during World War II, but John Wayne, whose real name was Marion Mitchell Morrison, was not one of them.
Hollywood, like the rest of society, was expected to contribute to the war effort. So why didn’t “The Duke” sign up? Many of his coworkers didn’t think twice about contributing; Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, and Clark Gable all went to battle. However, as many have suggested, was John Wayne indeed a draft dodger?
The actor had begun to establish himself in Hollywood when the Japanese launched their attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Despite not being a household name, Wayne, 34, was becoming more self-assured following his role in John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939).

A major box office hit, Stagecoach made Wayne a movie star. His reputation in Hollywood was solidified, and it just got bigger every year. In light of this, World War II arrived at a highly unfortunate moment. His career was just getting started, and it could have been ruined by enlistment or the draft.
Some accounts claim that Wayne was only terrified of losing his job.
In the 1940s, “The Duke” also began to make a lot of money, which was crucial given that he still had four children to support and his marriage to Josephine Alicia Saenz had broken down.
Another explanation for Wayne’s non-participation in the battle was put up by author Marc Eliot in 2014. According to Eliot’s book “American Titan: Searching for John Wayne,” Wayne was having an affair with Marlene Dietrich, an actress. Wayne chose not to enlist and battle because he was worried about losing Dietrich.
Eliot wrote, “She juicily sucked every last drop of resistance, loyalty, morality, and guilt out of Wayne when she came into his life.”

Wayne requested a 3-A draft deferment in 1943. He was given a deferral from military service since he was the only provider for a large family. However, perhaps we shouldn’t hold Wayne solely responsible. Actually, Herbert Yates, President of Republic Studio, made the deferment request on his behalf; he did not.
Gene Autry, Yates’ golden goose, had already left him when he willingly enlisted in the Army Air Corps and became a pilot. He didn’t want Wayne, his second source of income, to don the uniform and vanish.
The president of Republic Studio was prepared to do whatever it took to keep his sole A-list star under contract; he even threatened to sue Wayne if he disregarded his end of the bargain.
To John Ford, I wrote
Wayne’s pals claim that he intended to enlist after making a few more films, but that never materialized. The Duke sought the renowned and well-respected Irish director John Ford in several letters whether he may join Ford’s military unit.
“Have you any suggestions on how I should get in?” Wayne wrote to Ford in 1942. Would you like me to be assigned to your outfit, if you could?

Ford produced a number of documentaries for the Navy Department while he was employed at the Office of Strategic Services. In addition, he was on Omaha Beach on D-Day with his camera and directed the propaganda movie December 7th: The Movie (1943).
Ford would chastise Wayne “to get into it” during the conflict. While other men gave their life on the beaches of Europe and the South Pacific, the actor was becoming wealthy, the director grumbled.
Despite being criticized for his “half-hearted effort,” Wayne’s application was accepted and he was given a job offer with the Field Photographic Unit. However, Wayne’s wife, Josephine, ended up with the letter.
She kept it a secret from her husband.

The well-known actor was granted a special 2-A designation and deferred in “support of national interest,” suggesting that Hollywood, Wayne, and the government ultimately agreed on what was best for everyone.
Making movies to help the troops was the finest thing Wayne, who starred in thirteen movies during the war, could do, he told pals.
Some claim that depicting other people’s acts on a large screen was Wayne’s closest thing to World War II. On an entertainment tour in 1943 and 1944, he did, in fact, visit American hospitals and bases in the South Pacific. The Hollywood star tried his hardest to raise the troops’ spirits, but it was difficult for the well-known actor to win over scarred war veterans.

In Australia, Wayne was once met with a chorus of jeers from the crowd as he took the stage.
Duke had four children and an old ailment that would have prevented anyone from being qualified, thus he was basically unable to obtain an officer’s commission to join the military. Additionally, the authorities recognized Duke’s enormous potential to boost national spirits on screen. His overall responsibilities included bringing attention to the war we were fighting overseas and making numerous visits to rally support. He receives a negative reputation for not participating in the battle like others, yet nobody should make such error. In an effort to put things in perspective, cinema researcher James Denniston stated, “He was the real deal, no matter where he showed up.”
Author William Manchester provided an intriguing account of his experiences serving in the Pacific in an essay published in the New York Times Magazine. When Manchester had the opportunity to witness the legendary American actor and cultural icon John Wayne, he was injured and evacuated.
I had the great pleasure of witnessing Wayne’s humiliation in person at Aiea Heights Naval Hospital in Hawaii following my evacuation from Okinawa. To allow the guys to watch a movie every evening, Navy corpsmen would carry litters down the hospital theater. They prepared a surprise for us one evening.
The curtains parted before the movie started, and John Wayne emerged in a cowboy costume that included a 10-gallon hat, a bandana, a checkered shirt, two pistols, chaps, boots, and spurs. “Hi, ya guys!” he said with an aw-shucks grin, covering his face with his palm. There was stony silence to meet him. Then there was jeering. All of a sudden there was jeering. We refused to listen to this man because he represented the phony machismo that we had grown to despise. We drowned him out despite his repeated attempts to be heard, and he finally gave up and walked away,” he added.

The Unquiet American, a BBC documentary released twenty years after his passing, provided fresh insight into Wayne’s reasons for not serving in World War II.
The creators claim that
Wayne offered several unimportant justifications. Just one instance? The actor said that in order to fill out the necessary forms, he lacked a typewriter.
The move was solely motivated by careerism. James Kent, the producer of The Unquiet American, told The Independent in 1997 that Wayne had “manipulated it so he didn’t have to sign up and could fill the vacuum left by the other Hollywood stars who did.”
“He later found himself without a military record, a flag-waver, and an arch Commie-baiter.”
According to the book John Wayne: American, John Wayne’s choice to not serve would follow him around for the rest of his life. Guilt was the root of his post-war patriotism. Wayne was called a draft dodger by many.

The Unquiet American, a BBC documentary released twenty years after his passing, provided fresh insight into Wayne’s reasons for not serving in World War II.
The creators claim that
Wayne offered several unimportant justifications. Just one instance? The actor said that in order to fill out the necessary forms, he lacked a typewriter.

The move was solely motivated by careerism. James Kent, the producer of The Unquiet American, told The Independent in 1997 that Wayne had “manipulated it so he didn’t have to sign up and could fill the vacuum left by the other Hollywood stars who did.”
“He later found himself without a military record, a flag-waver, and an arch Commie-baiter.”
According to the book John Wayne: American, John Wayne’s choice to not serve would follow him around for the rest of his life. Guilt was the root of his post-war patriotism. Wayne was called a draft dodger by many.