My How Times have Changed!

These are all Hollywood Stars from the 40's, 50's and 60's - but did you know . .. these actors, also all served their country and then returned to acting?

If you are under 40 you will likely not recognize many/any of these.  If you are over 40 you will remember a few, if you are over 50 you will remember some, if you are over 60 you will remember most of them, if you are over 70 you remember all of them. 

• Stewart Hayden, US Marines and OSS, Smuggled guns into Yugoslavia and parachuted into Croatia.
• James Stewart, US Army Air Corps, Bomber pilot who rose to the rank of General.
• Ernest Borgnine, US Navy, Gunners Mate 1c, destroyer USS Lamberton. 
• Ed McMahon, US Marines, Fighter Pilot (Flew OE-1 Bird Dogs over Korea as well.)
• Telly Savalas, US Army.
• Walter Matthau, US Army Air Corps, B-24 Radioman/Gunner and cryptographer
• Steve Forrest, US Army, Wounded, Battle of the Bulge.
• Jonathan Winters, USMC, Battleship USS Wisconsin and Carrier USS Bon Homme Richard, Anti-aircraft gunner, Battle of Okinawa.
• Paul Newman, US Navy Rear seat gunner/radioman, torpedo bombers of USS Bunker Hill
• Kirk Douglas, US Navy, Sub-chaser in the Pacific, Wounded in action and medically discharged.
• Robert Mitchum, US Army.
• Dale Robertson, US Army, Tank Commander in North Africa under Patton, Wounded twice, Battlefield Commission.
• Henry Fonda, US Navy, Destroyer USS Satterlee.
• John Carroll, US Army Air Corps, Pilot in North Africa, Broke his back in a crash.
• Lee Marvin US Marines, Sniper, Wounded in action on Saipan, Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Sec. 7A next to Greg Boyington and Joe Louis.
• Art Carney, US Army, Wounded on Normandy beach, D-Day, Limped for the rest of his life.
• Wayne Morris, US Navy fighter pilot, USS Essex, Downed seven Japanese fighters.
• Rod Steiger, US Navy, was aboard one of the ships that launched the Doolittle Raid.
• Tony Curtis, US Navy, Sub tender USS Proteus, In Tokyo Bay for the surrender of Japan.
• Larry Storch, US Navy, Sub tender USS Proteus with Tony Curtis.
• Forrest Tucker, US Army, Enlisted as a private, rose to Lieutenant.
• Robert Montgomery, US Navy.
• George Kennedy, US Army, Enlisted after Pearl Harbor, stayed in sixteen years.
• Mickey Rooney, US Army under Patton, Bronze Star.
• Denver Pyle, US Navy, Wounded in the Battle of Guadalcanal, Medically discharged.
• Burgess Meredith, US Army Air Corps.
• De Forest Kelley, US Army Air Corps.
• Robert Stack, US Navy, Gunnery Officer.
• Neville Brand, US Army, Europe, Was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.
• Tyrone Power, US Marines, Transport pilot in the Pacific Theater.
• Charlton Heston, US Army Air Corps, Radio operator and aerial gunner on a B-25, Aleutians.
• Danny Aiello, US Army, Lied about his age to enlist at 16, Served three years.
• James Arness, US Army, as an infantryman, he was severely wounded at Anzio, Italy.
• Efram Zimbalist, Jr., US Army, Purple Heart for a severe wound received at Huertgen Forest.
• Mickey Spillane, US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot, and later Instructor Pilot.
• Rod Serling, US Army, 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific, He jumped at Tagaytay in the Philippines and was later wounded in Manila.
• Gene Autry, US Army Air Corps, Crewmember on transports that ferried supplies over "The Hump" in the China-Burma-India Theater.
• William Holden, US Army Air Corps.
• Alan Hale Jr., US Coast Guard.
• Harry Dean Stanton, US Navy, Battle of Okinawa.
• > Russell Johnson, US Army Air Corps, B-24 crewmember who was awarded Purple Heart when his aircraft was shot down by the Japanese in the Philippines.
• William Conrad, US Army Air Corps, Fighter Pilot.
• Jack Klugman, US Army.
• Frank Sutton, US Army, Took part in 14 assault landings, including Leyte, Luzon, Bataan, and Corregidor.
• Jackie Coogan, US Army Air Corps, Volunteered for gliders and flew troops and materials into Burma behind enemy lines.
• Tom Bosley, US Navy.
• Claude Akins, US Army, Signal Corps, Burma and the Philippines.
• Chuck Connors, US Army, Tank-warfare instructor.
• Harry Carey Jr., US Navy.
• Mel Brooks, US Army, Combat Engineer, Saw action in the Battle of the Bulge.
• Robert Altman, US Army Air Corps, B-24 Co-Pilot.
• Pat Hingle, US Navy, Destroyer USS Marshall
• Fred Gwynne, US Navy, Radioman.
• Karl Malden, US Army Air Corps, 8th Air Force, NCO.
• Earl Holliman, US Navy, Lied about his age to enlist, Discharged after a year when they Navy found out.
• Rock Hudson, US Navy, Aircraft mechanic, the Philippines.
• Harvey Korman, US Navy.
• Aldo Ray, US Navy, UDT frogman, Okinawa.
• Don Knotts, US Army, Pacific Theater.
• Don Rickles, US Navy aboard USS Cyrene.
• Harry Dean Stanton, US Navy, Served aboard an LST in the Battle of Okinawa.
• Robert Stack, US Navy, Gunnery Instructor.
• Soupy Sales, US Navy, Served on USS Randall in the South Pacific.
• Lee Van Cleef, US Navy, Served aboard a sub chaser then a minesweeper.
• Clifton James, US Army, South Pacific, Was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.
• Ted Knight, US Army, Combat Engineers.
• Jack Warden, US Navy, 1938-1942, then US Army, 1942-1945, 101st Airborne Division.
• Don Adams, US Marines, Wounded on Guadalcanal, and then served as a Drill Instructor.
• James Gregory, US Navy and US Marines.
• Brian Keith, US Marines, Radioman/Gunner in Dauntless dive-bombers.
• Fess Parker, US Navy and US Marines, Booted from pilot training for being too tall, joined Marines as a radio operator.
• Charles Durning, US Army, Landed at Normandy on D-Day, Shot multiple times, Awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, Survived Malmedy Massacre.
• Raymond Burr, US Navy, Shot in the stomach on Okinawa and medically discharged.
• Hugh O'Brian, US Marines.
• Robert Ryan, US Marines.
• Eddie Albert, US Coast Guard, Bronze Star with Combat V for saving several Marines under heavy fire as pilot of a landing craft during the invasion of Tarawa.
• Cark Gable, US Army Air Corps, B-17 gunner over Europe.
• Charles Bronson, US Army Air Corps, B-29 gunner, wounded in action.
• Peter Graves, US Army Air Corps.
• Buddy Hackett, US Army anti-aircraft gunner.
• Victor Mature, US Coast Guard.
• Jack Palance, US Army Air Corps, Severely injured bailing out of a burning B-24 bomber.
• Robert Preston, US Army Air Corps, Intelligence Officer
• Cesar Romero, US Coast Guard, Participated in the invasions of Tinian and Saipan on the assault transport USS Cavalier.
• Norman Fell, US Army Air Corps, Tail Gunner, Pacific Theater.
• Jason Robards, US Navy, was aboard heavy cruiser USS Northampton when it was sunk off Guadalcanal, also served on the USS Nashville during the invasion of the Philippines, surviving a kamikaze hit that caused 223 casualties.
• Steve Reeves, US Army, Philippines.
• Dennis Weaver, US Navy, Pilot.
• Robert Taylor, US Navy, Instructor Pilot.
• Randolph Scott, tried to enlist in the Marines but was rejected due to injuries sustained in US Army, World War 1.
• Ronald Reagan, US Army, was a 2nd Lt. in the Cavalry Reserves before the war, His poor eyesight kept him from being sent overseas with his unit when war came so he transferred to the Army Air Corps Public Relations Unit where he served for the duration.
• John Wayne, declared "4F medically unfit" due to pre-existing injuries, he nonetheless attempted to volunteer three times (Army, Navy and Film Corps) so he gets honorable mention.
• And of course, we have Audie Murphy, America's most-decorated soldier, who became a Hollywood star because of his US Army service that included his being awarded the Medal of Honor.

Clearly times have changed!  

Electronic Attack Training Squadron VAQ 129

A flight of three EA-18G, electronic attack aircraft of Squadron VAQ-129 out of NAS Whidbey Island, Washington.  This flight on this day was lead by two Texas Aggies, one of those in the lead airplane is my son, Commander Marcus J. Lockard, Jr. who is completing his transition training from the EA6B Prowler to the EA-18G, a variant of the F-18 platform.  Note the Aggie flags, Jim is in the back seat.

God Bless the United States Navy and the USA!

Gig Em

Hoover Dam in 1936 before it filled with Water - The side no one sees today!

Thank a Military Family for Carrying the Load

On the 9th Day, God made a Dog!

If you have had or currently have a dog, you will smile when you watch this.  Enjoy and pass this on to others you know.  It certainly made me smile.

What's Your 45?

This was written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short, enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But its all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Keep your Priorities in Order!

Stress is a Choice An Empty Pickle Jar A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty pickle jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes." The professor then produced two glasses of chocolate milk from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. The Moral of the Story - The professor waited for the laughter to subside.... "Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things...your family, your children, your health, yourfriends, your favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full." "The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your home, your car." "The sand is everything else...The small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are critical to your happiness." "Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house or fix the disposal." "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just sand."

A Test of your Thinking Skills

A PRE-SCHOOL TEST FOR YOU  Which way is the bus below traveling?   To the left or to the right?

Can't make up your mind? Look carefully at the picture again.

DON't Scroll down until you have really analyzed this picture!

Still don't know? Pre-schoolers all over the United States were shown this picture and asked the same question. 92% of the pre-schooler's gave this answer. "The bus is traveling to the left."

The reason for their conclusion, you can't see the door to get on the buss!  Sometimes the easiest answer stares us right in the face!

Ever wonder what a tower climber's job is like

Folks this is pretty impressive.  Click on this link, wait for the cartoon to finish and hold on to your chair, you are not going to believe this!

Marc

Swimming Eagle of Baton Rouge

You just don't get to see this very often, watch to the end and enjoy the awesomeness of this bird!

Thanks to a great friend from my days at Aramco for sending this!

Marc