In God We Trust
Browse: Intro | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Actor. Van Brunt was born on July 22, 1921, in Yokohama, Japan, and raised in Japan of Dutch-American and British parentage so that his fluency in the Japanese language led to assignments in Guam and Okinawa as an interrogator of enemy troops. He was so popular among the native Okinawans that they asked that he be allowed to stay as governor of their island in 1945. This, of course, did not happen, and he had bit parts in three films before rejoining the Marines in 1948 and participating in the Inchon, Korea landings as an intelligence officer in 1951. A career in advertising and sales preceded his death from alcoholism in 1977. He acted in films, The Big Clock (1948), Road to Rio (1947), and Dream Girl (1948).
Country western singer. Born October 4, 1929, in Pettis County, Missouri, Leroy Van Dyke arrived in Korea three days before the open hostilities ended in 1953. He worked as a special agent in the U.S. Counter-Intelligence Corps, associated with the 160th Infantry Regiment. He had the honor of being the 15-minute opening act in the USO show in Korea that featured Marilyn Monroe. After his discharge from the Army, Van Dyke worked as an agricultural journalist on several Midwest livestock newspapers based in Chicago. In 1956 he wrote the hit song, "The Auctioneer". Interestingly, during Van Dyke's appearance on a country western music show on RFD TV, he stated that he wrote the lyrics for The Auctioneer while stationed in Korea. He said that his cousin Ray Sims was one of the best known auctioneers in Missouri, and he wrote the song thinking of him. This is a contradiction to numerous articles about the popular song. Van Dyke moved to Nashville in 1961 and became a regular on the Grand Ole Opry. He also wrote the hit song, "Walk On By." His music career continues on.
Antarctica explorer and Olympic participant. Born in Massachusetts in 1905, Vaughan died in 2005. He is best known for his role in exploring Antarctica with Adm. Richard Byrd in 1928-1930. He climbed Mt. Vaughan in Antarctica (named after him) at age 89. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in February 1942. He commanded the search and rescue element of the North Atlantic Wing of the Air Transport Command, leading a dogsled team on some 200 rescue missions across Greenland during World War II. As an Air Force reservist, he served as part of a psychological warfare unit operating out of Tokyo during the Korean War. He flew some missions over Korea in 1952. He participated on the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. It was the only time dog sledding (mushing) was an Olympic event.
See "Vincent Eugene Craddock".