In God We Trust
These and additional American Korean War notables can be found under "Women (Military) in Korea" and "Black-American Contributions to the Korean War".
Actor. Born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo in New York on January 28, 1936, Alda graduated from Fordham University where he studied English and Theater. He joined the U.S. Army Reserves (1956-58) and did a six-month tour of duty in post-war Korea as a gunnery officer. As an actor he played the role of Hawkeye on the television series M*A*S*H. He was one of only two of the show's characters who actually served in the military in Korea.
American Food Network personality Sunny Anderson joined the Air Force in June 1993. She earned the rank of Senior Airman and worked as a military radio host in Seoul, Korea, then worked for Air Force News Agency radio and television in San Antonio from 1993 to 1997. She was honorably discharged from the Air Force in June 1997. She began hosting How'd That Get On My Plate? on Food Network in July 2008. She also hosts the Food Network program Cooking for Real and served as co-host of the Food Network program Gotta Get It.
Comedian and actor. Navy corpsman who served at Marine Corps Base at Quantico. Born July 12, 1937 in North Philadelphia, he enlisted in the Navy in 1956. He served as a hospital corpsman for four years. Cosby served on the USS Fort Mandan, a Navy support ship that was based at facilities including the Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where he helped in rehabilitation of wounded Korean War veterans. He was honorably discharged in 1960.
Actor, writer, producer, director. Born on July 09, 1938, Dennehy left his junior year at Columbia University to join the Marine Corps. He served five years in the Corps, including tours of duty in the U.S., Japan, and Korea. He has starred in over 40 feature films and numerous TV movies.
Actor (played the role of Klinger) on television series M*A*S*H. Served with the U.S. Army in Korea after the war was over (1956). Served two years in Japan and Korea. The dog tags he wore on the TV series M*A*S*H were really his own. Jamie Farr served as part of a USO show with Red Skelton. Farr appeared in the movie Blackboard Jungle (1955) just prior to entering the U.S. Army. He worked with Skelton before, during, and after his military stint.
Country music writer/singer. Craig was born on July 17, 1964 in Kingston, Tennessee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served on active duty from 1986 to 1996. (Later he was in the reserves.) He was with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in Panama and Desert Storm, later serving as an air assault instructor in South Korea. He performed in 12 USO tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is known for such hit country songs as "That's What I Like About Sunday" and "I Love It." His first major appearance was as an opening singer during Sawyer Brown's visit to South Korea.
Co-owner and former CEO of Turtle Wax. The Turtle Wax company which produces cleaning and polishing products for cars was founded in 1941 by Healy's father-in-law, Benjamin Hirsch. Born May 2, 1933 in the Bronx, Denis Healy was attending City College New York and majoring in chemistry when he was drafted into the Army and called up for service in January 1954. He arrived in Korea May of 1954 where he was assigned to the 55th Military Police Company and then the 728th Military Police Battalion in the Spring of 1955. The MP company patrolled and guarded a pipeline from Inchon to Kimpo Air Base. Healy left Korea in November 1955. He later joined the Turtle Wax company in 1971. He is active in veterans organizations, and the USO of Illinois.
Former CEO and president of the sneaker chain, "FootLocker". He also held high level executive positions at J.C. Penney and Payless Shoe Stores. He was stationed in an armored cavalry unit at Ft. Bliss after the end of the Vietnam War. He was a forward observer and then Fire Direction officer. He was nominated to West Point by Congressman George Herbert Walker Bush. Hicks later served as an artillery battery commander in Korea with the 3rd Cavalry Division, supporting the Korean army with special weapons capabilities. He was in Korea when the North Koreans used an axe to murder Captain Bonifas and another US Army soldier in 1976.
Hawaiian entertainer
"Tiny Bubbles" star Don Ho flew C-97 transports
by Robert F. Dorr
To most Americans, 68-year-old Don Ho is the master of Hawaiian melody, a world-famous musician widely loved for his trademark song "Tiny Bubbles." For decades, Ho has performed regularly along Honolulu's Waikiki Beach, not far from Kaneohe where he grew up. But even Ho's most loyal fans often don't know that the composer, singer, and actor was an Air Force transport pilot from 1954 to 1959. As a young lieutenant, Ho flew big, four-engined C-97 transports. Friends view him as symbolic of all the Americans who served in the Cold War years immediately after the Korean conflict. "The Korean War had just ended," Ho said in a July 19 telephone interview. "I had originally thought I might be flying jets in the fighting there, but I had an opportunity to be assigned near home at Hickam"—the Air Force base near Honolulu—"so I took the assignment." The Air Force assigned Ho to flying class 55-L and sent him to Mississippi and Texas for fighter pilot training. As a student pilot, he flew the T-6 Texan, T-28, and T-33 Shooting Star trainers. "The T-33 was the only fast jet I got to fly," Ho said. "The Hickam assignment meant transports, and for that I had training at West Palm Beach, Florida. Ho's airplane, the C-97, was a transport version of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. Its features included the wing, tail, and 2,200-horsepower Wright R-3350-23 Cyclone piston engines found on the B-29. The C-97 had a very different fuselage from the B-29, however—described by aviation writer Peter M. Bowers as "double bubble." The aircraft was almost identical to the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser operated by several airliners, but had a different passenger and cargo configuration on the inside. The Pacific Division of the Military Air Transport Service operated several versions of the transport, including C-97A, C-97B, C-97D, and VC-97D. Most military people are more familiar with the KC-97 tanker version, hundreds of which were flown by the Strategic Air Command. As an Air Force C-97 pilot, Ho flew cargo all over the Pacific. In an earlier interview, he told Hickam historian Lincoln Higa, "The high points were every time we flew into Tokyo. In those days, the yen [Japanese currency] was 360 yen to a dollar." Lodging, food, and shopping were readily available to American service members at low prices. Although he wanted to stay in the Air Force and loved flying, Ho's mother was ill and wanted him home. After five years as a pilot, he began musical performances in small groups, at first strumming at a ukelele, later playing the organ. His career as an entertainer took off in 1960 when he accepted a long-term contract at Duke Kahanamoku's, a well-known night spot in Honolulu. Today, Don Ho is known to many as "Mr. Hawaii." Apart from the recording success of "Tiny Bubbles," he is often cited by business and tourism groups as one of the strongest entertainment attractions in the island state. Ho's daughter, Hoku, is now well established in a musical performing career with the MTV television network. A scrapbook of material about the Air Force and the C-97 is "one of my treasures," Ho said.
Founder of the Bach to Rock music school in Wayne, Pennsylvania. He served in South Korea in 1966.
Leader of the band Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Born Gary Harold Lee Levitch on July 31, 1945, he was drafted into the Army in 1967 and was stationed in Korea and Saigon. He was a drummer, guitarist and vocalist who had seven songs on the Top 10 List from 1965 to 1966.
Director, writer, producer (The Odd Couple, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy). He also directed over 18 films, including Pretty Woman (1990) and The Princess Diaries (2001). Born in Bronx, New York, on November 13, 1934, he died on July 19, 2016 at the age of 81. His father was Anthony Masciarelli and his mother was Marjorie Ward. Garry Marshall joined the U.S. Army in 1956 and was stationed in South Korea, where he wrote for Stars & Stripes and Seoul News. He also served as production chief for the Armed Forces Radio Network.
This country western artist/Grand Ole Opry star served in post-war Korea. Born July 17, 1965 in Kingston Spring, Tennessee, Craig Morgan Greer (a/k/a Craig Morgan) enlisted in the Army and spent 11 years on active duty and 6 years in the reserves. In South Korea he was an air assault instructor and trained at the ROK Ranger School. While stationed in Korea he won several awards for singing and song writing. He also opened a Korean show for the band Sawyer Brown. During his military career he became a 13 Fox Fire Support Specialist serving in the 101st and 82nd Airborne units. In 1989 he participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama, Among his hit songs are: "I Love It", "Almost Home", "Redneck Yacht Club," "That's What I Love About Sunday," and "This Ole Boy."
Christian actor/martial artist/film producer/screenwriter, Chuck Norris was born on March 10, 1940 in Ryan, Oklahoma. He joined the Air Force to become an Air Policeman in 1958 and was assigned to Osan AFB in South Korea. There he began studying the Korean martial arts Tang Soo Do and Tae Kwan Do. After returning to the States, he continued to be an Air Policeman at March AFB in California until his discharge in August 1962. He is the brother of Vietnam KIA, Wieland Norris, on June 3, 1970. Wieland and his brother Aaron both joined the military during the Korean War. Aaron was sent to Korea, while Wieland was sent to Vietnam.
US Jewish novelist and rabbi, Potok was born February 17, 1929 in New York City. He was ordained a conservative rabbi and taught at several Jewish colleges before becoming editor of Conservative Judaism in 1964 and then editor of the Jewish Publication Society of America in 1966. He is most known for his novels The Chosen (1967), The Promise (1969), and My Name is Asher Lev (1972). He served as a chaplain (lieutenant) in the U.S. Army in South Korea from 1955 to 1957. His novels, The Book of Lights (1981) and I Am the Clay, were drawn from his experiences in South Korea. Chaim Potok died on July 23, 2002.
Entrepreneur who co-founded Anago Cleaning Systems in Florida. Anago has more than 2,400 franchises throughout the USA and received the award, "Top Franchise for Veterans" in 2017. Povlitz served in Korea in the late 1960s. He was a sergeant in the U.S. Army.
First African-American military aide to a president of the USA (Lyndon Johnson. He graduated from West Point in 1954 and was a platoon leader and company commander in Korea from April 1955 to July 1956. During the Vietnam War he was executive officer of the 45th Engineer Group and then commander of the 39th Engineer Combat Battalion. He was promoted to Brigadier General, being the Army Corps of Engineers first African-American general. He retired from the Army in 1983 and that same year he joined the Southland Corporation as vice president. He supervised the construction of Southland's corporate office complex in Dallas, Texas. In 1989 he became chairman and chief executive officer of the Tetra Group. In 2003 he held the same title with the Cranville Construction and Development Company. He was then Chief Executive Officer of Global Building Systems, then chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Served on board of directors of parent company of Northwest Airlines. Born October 28, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, he graduated from West Point in 1951. During the Korean War he served with the 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. In 1954 he was instructor in the airborne school at Ft. Benning. He served during the Vietnam War, and then in August of 1982 he became the first African-American four-star general in the Army. He retired in October of 1983. He served on the Board of Directors of the parent company of Northwest Airlines. He died on July 22, 1993 of leukemia.
Former governor of Illinois. Drafted in Army in 1954. After basic he was sent to Korea for 13 months where he was in charge of a base pharmacy. Discharged 1956.
Founder of the Military Museum of Southern New England in Danbury, Valluzzo served in Korea 1956-58. He later made a fortune working for his family's manufacturing company. He was shot dead by police in May 2013 outside his Connecticut mansion.
Environmental leader. Born December 17, 1937 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he entered the Army in August of 1959. In December 1963 he was made chief of the Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Center in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, 7th Logisti Command, 8th US Army in Korea. He retired from the Army on November 30, 1991 as one of the highest ranking African-Americans in the armed forces. In July 1995 he joined the environmental contractor Kaiser=Hill as Senior Vice President for Department of Energy programs. Between 1995 and 2005, Haiser-Hill managed a cleanup of radioactive hazardous materiaqls from Rocky Flats, a former nuclear weapons plant outside of Denver. Waller died of a heart attack on May 9, 1996 while visiting Washington, D.C.
First supersonic pilot. As a full-bird colonel in February of 1968, Colonel Chuck Yeager commanded the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing during its emergency deployment of a wing of F-4 Phantom II's to South Korea during the USS Pueblo Crisis to Osan AB (K-55). Prior to that, Yeager was also involved in the extensive debrief of the defecting North Korean Air Force MiG-15 pilot, Lieutenant No Kum-sok (노금속), aka Kenneth Rowe, in 1953, just a few months after the Korean War ended. Born February 13, 1923 in Myra, West Virginia, he entered the Army Air Corps during World War II on September 12, 1941 and remained in the Air Force until 1975. He retired as a Brigadier General.