In God We Trust
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One of the top stuntmen in films in the 1960s, serving as stunt double for actors such as Richard Boone in Have Gun, Will Travel, Clint Walker, Burt Reynolds, etc. He was also film director for films such as Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run. He was born on March 06, 1931 in Memphis, Tennessee, son of Howard and Edith May Robinson Needham. He dropped out of high school to join the United States Army, serving as a paratrooper during the Korean War. He specialized in testing parachutes, and earned extra money by jumping in aerial thrill shows. In the process, he developed some of the equipment now used by skydivers. Hal Needham died October 25, 2013 at the age of 82.
Minor and major league baseball catcher. Born February 18, 1929 in Valmeyer, Illinois, Cal Neeman served in the Army during the Korean War. He spent about a year in Korea with the Army's 105th Field Artillery Battalion, returning in time for the 1953 season. He played four seasons in the minor leagues until he was drafted on December 3, 1956 to the Chicago Cubs. He remained with the Cubs until he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on May 13, 1960. He played for the Pittsburg Pirates in 1962 and the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators in 1963.
Major League baseball player. [Source: Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice.com]. Robert O "Bob" Neighbors was born on November 9, 1917 in Talahina, Oklahoma. When he signed with the Siloam Springs Travelers of the Arkansas-Missouri League in 1936, he had never played baseball – only fast-pitch softball. However, he made the conversion easily and batted .278 in 118 games with 16 home runs and 86 RBIs. Neighbors produced similar numbers with the Travelers in 1937, and joined Palestine of the East Texas League in 1938, where he hit .301 in 139 games. The young shortstop played for Springfield of the Three-I League in 1939, and his 14 home runs and 80 RBIs in 119 games earned him a late-season call-up to the St Louis Browns. The 21-year-old made his major league debut on September 16, 1939, and appeared in seven games, getting two hits in 11 at-bats. Neighbors played for the Toledo Mudhens of the American Association in 1940 and was with San Antonio of the Texas League in 1941. Neighbors married his wife, Winifred Wilcox, in January 1941, but tragedy struck that summer Winifred hit by a car and killed. Bob was on the road with the team at the time. Neighbors entered military service with the Army Air Force at Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 8, 1942. He served with the 22nd Air Transport Training Detachment at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he played baseball for the Sheppard Field Mechanics. The Mechanics team was led by Texas A&M star Lieutenant Marland Jeffrey, and featured Dave Short of the White Sox, Ray Poole of the Athletics, Bill Gray of the Hollywood Stars, Ray Murray, who would play for the Indians and Athletics after the war, and Pete Hughes of Spokane in the Western International League. Neighbors later served at Maxwell Air Base in Montgomery, Alabama, where he met and later married Katherine Burke. He also served in California at Fairfield-Suisan Army Air Base and Hamilton Field, where he also had the opportunity to play ball. Bob Neighbors didn't return to professional baseball after the war. He chose, instead, to remain in military service although he did manage and play for the Maxwell Air Base team. Major Neighbors saw combat duty during the Korean War as a Douglas B-26B Invader pilot with the 13th Bomb Squadron of the 3rd Bomb Group. On August 8, 1952, during a night mission, Neighbors and his crew – First-Lieutenant William Holcom and Staff-Sergeant Grady Weeks – reported they had been hit and were bailing out. There was no further contact, and the crew was reported missing in action after failing to return. All hope for Neighbors, Holcom and Weeks was lost after the fighting in Korea ended on July 27, 1953, and prisoners were repatriated.
Singer, songwriter, actor, musician, animal rights activist. Willie Nelson was born April 30, 1933, in Abbot, Texas. He joined the Air Force after graduating from high school in 1950. He was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He was medically discharged nine months into his military service due to back problems.
Player with the Brooklyn Dodgers 1949-51 and 1954-58. Born July 14, 1926, in Madison, New Jersey, he was the first Black-American pitcher in MLB. "Newcombe pitched in the Negro Leagues before breaking in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He led the Dodgers to the pennant with 17 victories, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award. And he kept getting better; he won 19 games in 1950 and 20 games in 1951. Then he was drafted. He missed two seasons, and when he returned, he went just 9-8 with a 4.55 ERA in 1954. A year later, he helped lead the Dodgers to their first World Series title, and he won the NL MVP and NL Cy Young awards in 1956." [Source: Bob Nightengate, USA Today, July 01, 2013] Newcombe served in the Army Medical Corps, mostly as part of a special demonstration unit at Brooke Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He had tried to join the Army in 1942 but was underage. He then joined the Navy in 1943 but was discharged after a month because he was still underage. He served in the Army during the Korean War (1952-1953), physically training
recruit Army doctors at Camp Pickett, Texas. Newcombe was the only man in baseball history to receive all three of the sport's major awards: Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award, and Most Valuable Player.
Actor and comedian best known for his role in television sitcoms The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. He was drafted during the Korean War, stationed stateside in California as a personnel manager. He was discharged in 1954.
Founder of Justice Recording Company of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Born in West Frankfort, Illinois, gospel singer Newton was a member of the Melody Masters and the Blackwood Brothers Quartet before serving in the military during the Korean War. After Korea he sang with the Gaither Homecoming Family, the Oak Ridge Quartet, Sons of Song, etc., but the gospel singer is best known for his song, When They Ring Those Golden Bells. He entered the field of music production when he founded the Justice Recording Company. His company produced and recorded the music of local "garage bands" in the North Carolina area, releasing some 22 rock and roll albums and a number of 45's. The music of these local bands was preserved by Newton and now appreciated by music historians. Newton received the Living Legend Award by the Grand Old Gospel Convention in 1999.
Actor most notably known for his role as "Dr. Spock" in the Star Trek series, he was born in Boston, Massachusetts and died at the age of 83 on February 27, 2015. He enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1953 and served 18 months, with some time spent in Van Nyes, California, but most of it spent at Ft. McPherson in Georgia, where he was a platoon sergeant. He was discharged in 1955 with the rank of sergeant. Part of Nimoy's time in the military was spent putting on shows for the Army Special Services branch which he wrote, narrated, and emceed.
Political commentator and co-host of the political television talk show Crossfire on CNN from 1980 to 2005. In 2005 he joined Fox News. Born February 26, 1l931 in Jolit, Illinois, he died August 18, 2009. He attended the University of Illinois, then joined the U.S. Army, serving stateside during the Korean War. After military service he became an Associated Press reporter and writer for the Wall Street Journal, but was most known for his work as a political commentator.