Notable persons who also served in the Great War

[Pete Hill]

Hello,
I am compiling a list of persons who are well-remembered for a variety of reasons but who also happened to serve in some capacity in the First World War. For most of these persons, it is for reasons other than their war record that they are now famous, however.
This list only scratches the surface and I am hoping members will help me flesh it out.

Harry Truman (USA)- President of the United States 1945-1953. He served as a battery commander 129th Field Artillery, attached to the 35th Infantry Division in the US army on the Western Front 1917-18. Known for his bravery, strict discipline, loud profanities during action and his anger and frustration at the Ceasefire order on November 11th, 1918.

J R R Tolkien (UK) - Writer & author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He served in the British Infantry on the Western Front as a Second Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers. He took part in the battle at Thiepval Ridge on the Somme, 1916. Contracting Trench Fever, he was invalided out of the army in November of that year.

C S Lewis (Ireland) - Writer & author of the Chronicles of Narnia. He served in the British Infantry on the Western Front as a Lieutenant in the Somerset Light Infantry. Arriving at the front in November 1916, he fought at Arras the following year and was wounded. He spent the remainder of the war assigned to duties in Britain.

Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith (Australia) - World-renowned aviator and pathfinder, made the first Trans-Pacific flight from the USA to Australia in 1928. He first served in the Australian Light-Horse and fought at Gallipoli as a despatch-rider. In 1917 he transferred to the RFC and flew Sopwith Camels, destroying a German two-seater in one action and was wounded in another, having most of his left foot amputated as a result.

Robert Graves (UK) - Writer & poet, author of I, Claudius. Joining up in 1914, he served in the British Infantry as an officier in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and saw active service on the Western front 1915-16. Badly wounded at the Somme, he spent the rest of the war assigned to duties in Britain. He later wrote his famous war memoirs Goodbye to All That

General George S Patton (USA) - US Army General who commanded American forces in Sicily, Italy & North-West Europe during WW2. He served as a Captain in the newly-formed US Army Tank Corps 1917-18. He fought at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in September 1918 and was badly wounded in the upper thigh.

General Douglas MacCarthur (USA) - US Army General who commanded US forces in the Pacific during WW2 and later in Korea. He served as Chief-of-Staff of the 42nd Division of the AEF and later commanded the 84th Infantry Brigade on the Western Front. He received multiple decorations and was wounded twice. Refusing to wear a gas-mask, he suffered respiratory problems for the rest of his life.

Field-Marshall Erwin Rommel (Germany) - Whermacht General who commanded Axis forces in the campaigns in France, North Africa and Normandy in WW2. Entered the Great war as a young Lieutenant and eventually rose to command an Infantry Battalion in the AlpenKorps (Mountain-troops), seeing action in France, Italy & Romania. He was wounded three times and on one occasion was captured by Italian troops and later escaped.

Air-Marshall Arthur 'Bomber' Harris (UK) - Controversial commander of British RAF Bomber Command who led the night-bombing offensive against Germany & occupied Europe 1942-45. During WW1, he served in the RFC as a fighter pilot, flying Sopwith Strutters & Camels during 1917, eventually becoming CO of his unit, No 45 Squadron. Credited with destroying 5 German planes.

Air-Marshall Hugh Dowding (UK) - Commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battles of France and Britain, May-October 1940. During WW1, he served in the RFC, commanding 16 Squadron until, during the Battle of the Somme, he was sent back to Britain for insubordination. (He had complained to RFC Commander, General Trenchard, that air-crews required more rest from operations)

General Sir Thomas Blamey (Australia) - Commander-in-Chief of Australian armed forces in WW2. In WW1 he fought at Gallipoli as a Major in army Intelligence and later served on the Western Front as a staff officer.

Field-Marshall Herman Goering (Germany)- Commander of the German Luftwaffe in WW2 and senior Nazi figure. In WW1 after a year in the Infantry, he fought as a fighter-pilot in the German IAF 1916-1918 and took over command of Manfred Von Richtofen's Jagdgeschwader 1 following the latter's death. He was credited with 22 Allied planes destroyed.

Georges Braque (France) - Modernist Painter and co-invented the Cubist Abstract style of painting with his friend Picasso in the decade prior to the war. Joined up in 1914 and served in the French army on the Western Front, sustaining a severe head-wound early in the war.

Sir Frederick Grant Banting (Canada) - Doctor credited with the discovery of the Hormone Insulin as a treatment for Diabetes, awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923. He served in the Canadian Army as an army doctor on the Western front during WW1 and received the military cross for bravery.

Humphrey Bogart (USA) -Film actor & movie star 1930s-1950s. Enlisted in the US Navy in 1918 and served on board the transport vessel USS Leviathan. Some historians claim he was wounded by shrapnel during a bombing attack.

Buster Keaton (USA) - Silent film star of the 1920s. Served in the US Army 40th Division on the Western Front 1917-18. Contracted a severe ear infection that nearly took his life.

Edwin Hubble (USA) - Scientist and author of the Theory of the Expanding Universe whom the Hubble Telescope is named after. Served in the US Artillery on the Western Front in 1917, having trained with Truman.

Angelo Roncalli (Italy) - Elected by the Vatican as Pope John XXI in 1958. Served in the Italian army as a Medical Corpsman at the Battle of Isonzo River.

Ernst Hemingway (USA) - Journalist & Writer. Rejected by the US Army due to poor vision, he served in the Red Cross Ambulance Corps on the Italian Front where he was wounded in the legs in July 1918 by an Austrian artillery barrage.

Basil Rathbone (UK) - Stage and film actor 1920s- 1950s, starred in the Dawn Patrol and Adventures of Robin Hood. During WW1, he served in the British Infantry in the trenches as a private in the London Scottish Regiment and later as a Lieutenant in the Liverpool Scottish regiment. Was decorated for bravery.

I know this list is just a start. I would love members to add any body they know about. Please don't bother mentioning Adolf Hitler, I don't want him on any list! Pete

[vb136]

To name a few:
Walt Disney, under-age ambulance-driver in the US Army. IIRC, his service overseas (in Europe) started post-Armistice.

Charles de Gaulle, career officer in the French army (RI 33), POW near Doaumont in 1916.

Maurice Chevalier, IIRC, served as an officer in the French army

André Maginot, in the French army, later Minister of Defence and originator of a certain "line"

Gustaf Mannerheim, officer in the Russian army, later CinC Finnish army, and post-WW 2 president of Finland for a time, 1944-46

There were a number of other officers in the Russian army, who later played a part in Soviet history

[Andrew_Smith]

A couple more Australians for you, I could write all day on notable Australians that served in WW1. These are aviators so it drags the thread back on topic.

Regards,

Andrew

Bert Hinkler – Aviator. Served with the RNAS as an observer and later the RAF as a pilot. Hinkler is most famous for his record breaking solo England to Australia flights of the late 1920’s. He lost his life on such an attempt in 1932.

Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh – Airline Founder. Served in WW1 at Gallipoli with the 1st Light Horse Brigade, transferring later to the AFC he served as an observer. With Pat McGinness their T-model Ford was the first car to journey overland to the Gulf of Carpentaria. In 1920 Hudson Fysh with 3 others founded QANTAS.

Sir Lionel Hooke – Polar Explorer, Businessman. RNAS. On Christmas Day 1914 Hooke sailed from Hobart as wireless operator on board the Aurora which carried the support party for Sir Ernest Shackleton's proposed crossing of the Antarctic continent. In 1919 he joined AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia). He remained with the company until his death in 1974.

Sir George Jones – Air Force. Jones served at Gallipoli as a private, transferring to the AFC in 1916. After initial training he joined 4 squadron and become a 7 victory Ace. After the war he joined the fledgling RAAF. He rose rapidly through the ranks and was promoted to Chief of the Air Staff a position he held form 1942 to 1952. He retired from the RAAF as Air Marshal.

Frederick Sidney Cotton – Aviator, Inventor/Business Man. Cotton joined the RNAS and quickly discovered that he had differing ideas to his commanding officers He invented the sidcot suit for pilots and never made a cent from its invention. He resigned his commission from the RNAS. Post war he became interested in aerial photography and at the start of WW2 he was made honorary wing commander and head of the new Photographic Development Unit. He again fell out with the brass and was removed from his position.His career spanned years and I do not have enough room here to do Sid justice.

[TomVrille]

What could be more incongruous than two men best known as poets in the midst of war?

The first, Alfred Joyce Kilmer is best remembered as the author of Trees, first published in 1914. Although a family man, and thus exempt from the draft, Kilmer was moved to volunteer as a private in the 7th Regiment, New York National Guard, when the United Staes entered the war. He later managed a transfer to the “Fighting 69th”, with the aid of the legendary Father Duffy. Shipped out to France, Kilmer rose quickly to the rank of Sergeant, serving as an observer on the Regimental Intelligence Staff. Although not required to perform any front line duty in this position, he volunteered to take the place of a Divisional Adjutant killed in action the day before. Kilmer was himself killed in action by a sniper’s bullet on 30 July 1918.

The next man, Robert W. Service, is one of my personal favorites. He was born in Scotland, but emigrated to Canada at the age of 21. After several years of living as a vagabond, and holding a variety of jobs for a time, he ended up in the goldfields of the Yukon, where his experiences provided him with the material for which he is best remembered. His verses of the gold rush, including such classics as The Shooting of Dan McGrew, were assembled into a collection titled Songs of a Sourdough, and published in 1907. When the Great War broke out, he served as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service. This experience provided him with the inspiration for yet another collection of verses, the often poignant Rhymes of a Red Cross Man, published in 1916. Robert Service died on September 11, 1958, and is buried in the local cemetery at Lancieux, Côtes-d’Armor, France.

[Rod_Filan]

Lester B. (Mike) Pearson (14th Prime Minister of Canada)
When the First World War broke out in 1914, he volunteered for service as a Medical Orderly with the University of Toronto Hospital Unit. In 1915, he undertook overseas service with the Canadian Army Medical Corps as a stretcher bearer with the rank of Private and had a subsequent commissioning to the rank of Lieutenant. During this period of service he spent two years in Egypt and Greece. In 1917, Pearson transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (as the Royal Canadian Air Force did not exist at that time), where he served as a Flying Officer until being sent home with injuries from two accidents; while training as a pilot at an air training school in Hendon, England, Pearson survived an airplane crash during his first flight. Unfortunately, in 1918, he was hit by a London bus during a blackout and was sent home as an invalid to recuperate and then discharged from the service. It was as a pilot that he received the nickname of "Mike", given to him by a flight instructor who felt that "Lester" was too mild a name for an airman. Thereafter, Pearson would use the name "Lester" on official documents and in public life, but was always addressed as "Mike" by friends and family.


Excellent choice with

Robert Service

, Tom. One of my favorites too.

Cheers
Rod

[karrart]

A TV bio of Bela Lugosi mentioned he served in the AH army in WW I, and showed a photo of him in his uniform- but that was about all the info offered.
Robert Karr
OLD BIRDS STAYING ALIVE - THE AVIATION ART OF ROBERT KARR

[vb136]

Jean Renoir, film-director, served as a pilot in French escadrille 64

Didier Daurat, creator of French international airmail service, was a pilot in escadrille 227

Benito Mussolini, volunteered for war service in the Italian army and was wounded

Georg von Trapp, commander of submarines in the Austro-Hungarian army. Later made famous by Christopher Plummer.....

Josip Broz, Tito, served in the Austro-Hungarian army. Taken POW on the eastern front.

[Gregvan]

Hi,

Such a list might almost be endless. However, I've been intrigued by how many Hollywood types served in WWI, especially in aviation; two of the most famous:

Merian C. Cooper, most famous as co-writer and co-director of "King Kong", was a DH 4 pilot in the 20th Aero Squadron in WWI. On 26 September he was shot down in his flaming DH 4 by elements of JG II. He was taken PoW and despite burns, survived the war as a prisoner. After the war he helped form the famous "Kosciusko Squadron" of American volunteers fighting for Poland against Soviet Russia. He was again brought down and taken prisoner, this time spending almost 9 months in a Bolshevik prisoner camp. He escaped just before the end of the war, and walked the many miles to Latvia. He received many high decorations from Poland and the USA. In WW2 he again served in the US Army Air Corps, serving as chief of staff for Claire Chennault and rising to the rank of brigadier general.

William Wellman, of course - the Academy-Award-winning director of "Wings," "Battleground" and "The Ox-Bow Incident". He joined the Lafayette Flying Corps and enlisted in France's Service Aeronautique in June 1917. He flew at the front with Escadrille SPA 87 and received the Croix de Guerre with two Palms.

Greg

[FOKKERJ]

I just ran across a foto last night, but was unable to get a clean copy of Adolf Hitler, or I would post it.
As unpopular as he is, I still thought he deserves mention here.
He did screw up my grandfather's first name(Adolf August Schwartz) and the Hakenkreuse!

VBR, Jay

[retread]

I suppose its almost too obvious. James Norman Hall (Spa 124, 103 Prusuit Squadron) and Charles Nordhoff (N99). Who co-authored, among others, the "Lafayette Flying Corp", "Falcons of France", "Farey Lands of the South Seas" and probably most well known, "The Bounty Trilogy" from which sprang several films over a period of 60+ years. Hall had written "Kitcheners Mob" and "High Adventure" during the war, the latter being published while he was a POW. Nordhoff had written several articles for "Atlantic Monthly" while serving the French in N99. Nordhoff closed the war serving as Editor in Chief of the immense "Gorrell's History" of the United States Air Service.