38 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Veterans

They were proud to serve their country!

With 23.2 million military veterans in the United States, chances are there’s someone in your life that needs to be honored this Veteran’s Day. If not, here’s a list of celebrity Vets that you can thank for their services. You may already regard them as personal heroes, but this handful could also be considered war heroes:

Check out our slideshow of military vet celebs!

38. Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris saw his first spinning heel kick while watching locals practice martial arts while in service for the United States Air Force in South Korea: “I was mesmerized by their incredible ability. I wanted to ask them what they were doing, but they looked very intense,” says Norris. “So I returned to the base and described what I had seen to my judo instructor, Master Ahn. He said it was called Tang Soo Do. I told him that I’d love to try it, since I couldn’t do judo with my injured shoulder.”

Before he left the country, he’d already gained his black belt in Tang Soo Do and brown belt in judo. Hee-YAH!

37. Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner published cartoons in various military newspapers as an infantry clerk–so it’s possible that Playboy actually got its’ first start in the armed forces.

36. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Ex-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army, which was a requisite for 18-year-old Austrian males at the time. The then-bodybuilder used to sneak out of camp to go compete in the Junior Mr. Europe contests. Schwarzenegger won the competition, but reportedly was caught and forced to spend a few days in military prison as punishment.

35. Audrey Hepburn

While Audrey Hepburn was vacationing with her mother in Holland, Hitler’s army took over the town in which they were staying. Only a child at the time, Hepburn suffered from malnutrition and depression during the occupation, but somehow was still able to serve as a child courier for WWII resistance fighters in the country.

34. Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley’s “willingness” to join-up was used massively for the US Army’s public image. After all, if The King signs up, so should you. Two years after “Hound Dog” was drafted he was inducted as a media event, but Elvis insisted on being treated like every other soldier. “The army can do anything it wants with me,” he said. “Millions of other guys have been drafted, and I don’t want to be different from anyone else.”

33. Bill Cosby

Now disgraced comedy-legend, Bill Cosby served as a hospital corpsman in 1956 and recalls everything his time of service gave to him: “The years I spent in the Navy and so many moments remembering that the Navy gave me a wake-up call. The Navy showed me obedience and that’s the thing that pushed me to realize the mistakes I had made in my young life at 19-years-old and that I could do something with myself and become somebody.”

32. Adam Driver

"Star Wars" and “Girls” star Adam Driver joined the Marines after 9/11. In an interview with "Entertainment Tonight", he explained how serving his country helped push him into acting. “When you get out of the Marine Corps, you feel like you can do anything. That was part of why I went to re-audition for Juilliard. I thought, ‘Worse comes to worst, I know how to live. I’ll live in Central Park or something. I’ll survive.’ You feel like all civilian problems are meaningless and small, which is a complete illusion, but you have this confidence. You’ve been torn down so much — physically, emotionally, verbally — you feel like you’re indestructible … Joining the military was beneficial because I think I had the will but didn’t have the drive or didn’t know where to put it. And I learned in the military where to put it.”

31. Willie Nelson

Nelson served nine months in the Air Force when he graduated high school. Because of back problems the singer/songwriter was honorably discharged after a rather short time in service.

30. Bea Arthur

Is it any surprise that staunch and sturdy "Golden Girls" actress Bea Arthur was once a member of the Marine Corps.? She volunteered and served during WWII as a truck driver and a typist–though later flat out denied that it ever happened.

29. Jimi Hendrix

It might be hard to imagine the guitar god in uniform, but he was sent to the Army after he was caught breaking into cars as a kid.

28. Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s biggest adventures aren’t all necessarily onscreen. The Western star served time in the Korean War, and was even aboard a plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, Eastwood made it to shore. “I thought I might [not] live. But then I thought, other people have made it through these things before,” Eastwood said. “I kept my eyes on the lights on shore and kept swimming.”

27. Drew Carey

Drew Carey perfected his stand-up comedy routine during his six-year stint in the Marines. “While in the Marine Reserves, I was looking for a way to make some more money, and it was suggested that I try using my jokes,” Carey later admitted. The standup still performs for the Armed Forces on occasion to this day.

26. Sean Connery

At the ripe age of 16, Sean Connery enlisted in the Royal Navy. However, he was later discharged because of stomach ulcers. Somehow these didn’t affect him whatsoever during the filming of action sequences in the James Bond films.

25. Ice-T

The Law & Order: SVU actor and gangsta rapper enlisted in the Army after high school to provide for his girlfriend and daughter at the time.

24. Johnny Cash

The country legend was stationed in Landsberg, Germany with the Air Force when Joseph Stalin died. As a radio operator, Cash was among the first to learn of the dictator’s death.

23. Morgan Freeman

The legendary actor was a first class airman, and also worked as a radio repairman.

22. Jimmy Stewart

Film actor Jimmy Stewart didn’t attain his square shoulders and the air of a perfect gentlemen solely by birth–the classic Hollywood star was the first to join the ranks of celebrities to wear uniform during WWII. In fact, the Vertigo actor already had his pilot’s license and clocked quite a few hours in the air for leisure, before he was doing it in combat missions.

21. Clark Gable

Clark Gable signed up after the tragic death of his wife Carole Lombard. Although he spent most of WWII making recruiting films on special assignment, he was still a movie star for darn sakes! Also, he flew in combat and was awarded several medals. Reportedly, Adolf Hitler was a big fan of his, and offered a price for anyone who would deliver the Hollywood celeb unharmed.

20. Montel Williams

Television show host Montel Williams served in the Navy as a cryptologic officer for naval intelligence while in Guam. It was during his time as a liutenenant in the Navy that Williams first learned how to counsel his fellow servicemen and their families, helping to prep the host for what would later make him famous – “The Montel Williams Show.”

19. Mel Brooks

Comedian Mel Brooks always knew how to find the humor in every situation–even when he was recruited into the United States Army. “…I was 17 and the army came there and they took one look at me and they said, Melvin, you’re our guy. They issued a test, the army specialized training reserve program test. If you pass this test, I think it was like how much is one and one, you know?” he said. “And I nearly failed because I said, well, side by side they’re 11, but they took me anyway.”

18. Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman lied about his age at 16-years-old to join the Marines. The actor’s first “showbiz” job was as a DJ on the Armed Forces Network (not unlike Robin Williams in “Good Morning Vietnam”.)

17. James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones became a cadet for the U.S. Army before the Korean War, but ended up staying on American soil to help establish a cold weather training unit in Colorado.

16. Lord Richard Attenborough

The late Richard Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and was subsequently knighted in 1976–that’s almost twenty years before we saw him outrun dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park”.

15. Steve McQueen

It’s no surprise that “The King of Cool,” Steve McQueen was reportedly demoted seven times due to insubordination while in the Marine Corps. However, he eventually got his act together, and ended up saving the lives of five other Marines–now that’s cool.

14. Jesse Ventura

Jesse “The Body” Ventura made a name in wrestling, film, and politics, but before all of that, he was an elite soldier, serving as a Navy Seal during the Vietnam War.

13. Tom Selleck

Selleck without his mustache is a strange sight, but military regulations kept him from having one when he served in the California National Guard.

12. Tony Bennett

The legendary crooner was drafted into the Army in November 1944. He served as an infantryman in France and Germany. In a powerful interview with SiriusXM, Bennett explained his fear when overseas: “The Germans were frightened. We were frightened. Nobody wanted to kill anybody when we were on the line, but the weapons were so strong that it overcame us and everybody else.” Bennett was discharged in 1946 and went on to sell tens of millions of albums.

11. Ronald Reagan

The Gipper was a famous actor before becoming President. Before acting, he served in the US Army, but was not deployed due to his poor eyesight.

10. Humphrey Bogart

Bogart joined the U.S. Navy in 1918, and ferried troops home from Europe during World War I. It’s believed that he got the iconic scar on his lip during the war. One story claims the scar developed when a piece of shrapnel hit him while his ship, the USS Leviathan, was under attack.

9. Michael Caine

Caine served in the British Army as a rifle infantryman during the Korean War. The actor has always been a supporter of the military, and believes everyone should have to serve for at least six months.

8. Randy Couture

The “Expendables” star served in the U.S. Army from 1982-88. Couture moved through the ranks to become a Sergeant in the 101st Airborne.

7. Leonard Nimoy

Nimoy enlisted in the United States Army Reserves in the early 1950s. Not a lot is known about Nimoy’s service time after his personal records were destroyed in a fire in 1973. We do know that the actor spent 18 months in the reserves, and his service number was ER 11 229 770. It is believed that Nimoy spent most of his time at Ft. McPherson in Georgia, and was discharged in 1955 having earned the rank of sergeant.

6. Kirk Douglas

Douglas served in World War II as a Navy lieutenant, eventually becoming a submarine communications officer,before he was medically discharged in 1944.

5. Mickey Rooney

“The Hollywood Reporter” revealed that Rooney served in the Army from 1944 to 1946. With a background in entertainment, he spent his time giving laughs to troops during World War II. He also earned a Bronze Star.

4. Gene Wilder

Wilder was drafted into the Army in 1956, and served as a medic in Pennsylvania. He never served overseas.

3. Johnny Carson

Carson didn’t always sit behind a desk. The TV star enlisted in the Navy in 1943 in hopes of becoming a pilot. Instead, Carson was sent to Columbia University to train as a midshipman — and often performed magic tricks for his classmates. Carson was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania in the Pacific Ocean and was en route to the ship when it was torpedoed on Aug. 12, 1945. Carson reported for duty on Aug. 14, 1945, the last day of the war.

2. Paul Newman

Newman served during World War II. He wanted to be a pilot, but couldn’t because of his colorblindness. Instead, the actor became a radioman and gunner for the Navy where he served from 1943-1945.

1. Kurt Vonnegut

When Kurt Vonnegut wrote about allies firebombing Dresden in Slaughterhouse-Five, he was writing from personal experience. The famed writer was captured during the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944, and was confined in a German prisoner of war camp near the city during the February 1945 aerial campaign. Vonnegut received a Purple Heart for his service in World War II, along with three bronze service stars. The horrors he experienced during his military service fueled much of his work.