Johnny Carson
The effect of the great wars back in the day roused in young men a strong sense of pride and courage, of being wronged, and the will to rightfully correct it. One of those who felt the need to reinstall justice and order in the world was Johnny Carson, who would become famous as The Tonight Show host.
He enlisted in the United States navy as an apprentice seaman, and was enrolled in the V-5 program. He had hopes of being trained as a navy pilot but was instead sent for midshipman training at Columbia University. From there he became a member of the crew on the USS Pennsylvania. As he was always one to entertain, he performed tricks for his classmates to keep spirits high.
Robin Quivers
The vicissitudes that surround our lives can be quite unpredictable. Who would have guessed, for instance, that the co-host of The Howard Stern Show, a fine lady at that, and in such a wacky program, used to actually serve the USAF as a captain?
Robin Quivers still remained a member of the US Air Force reserve until 1990. After taking her first job in radio as a newscaster in Pennsylvania, she decided to return to Baltimore, just in time to breeze in when The Howard Stern Show was scouring for someone with a straightforward personality to balance his zany character.
Berry Gordy
Berry Gordy’s experiences, which ultimately led him to become the record executive responsible for the famous Motown label, were filled with many trials. He even tried living on his hands, literally, by being a professional boxer, but it didn’t sufficiently take off. He joined the military instead, to participate in the Korean War.
Little did he know that his stint with the US Army would someday provide the foundation of his music recording business. He first opened a record shop after the war, and with his money from his discharge pay, decided to make his own records, that eventually morphed into Motown. From thereon, the cash flowed smoothly, without a bump on the road.
Sammy Davis Jr.
Even before Sammy Davis Jr. became famous for his music and acting, he had that fizzle of energy in him that made people notice his infectious talent and skills. So when the Second World War started and Davis Jr. drafted, his immediate superiors thought he could serve better entertaining the troops weary from the war, than in the battlefield.
He reaped a lot of benefits out of it upon his return to America, because it reflected brilliantly well on his work. He was given a position in the Rat Pack, a group led by Frank Sinatra himself.
Mr. T
Laurence Tureaud, better known professionally as Mr. T, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler of the 1980s. He joined the army and became a military policeman back in the seventies, whereupon a punishment for a minor misdeed inadvertently got him a promotion to squad leader. He was the “Top Trainee of the Cycle,” in 1975.
After his military service, Mr. T worked as a highly-paid bodyguard for $3,000 a night, until Sylvester Stallone met him by happenstance and offered him the life-changing opportunity of playing Clubber Lang in Rocky III.