John Wayne Was My HERO Growing Up! WHO Was YOURS?

LISTEN NOW TO: Remembering John Wayne, My Hero

Some months back I went into my studio and recorded this dedication segment to my hero, John Wayne, entitled “For What It’s Worth.” To me, John Wayne had a deep love for his country. His patriotism is reflected throughout his entire life. He had wanted to go into the military, but an old football injury prevented it. He is quoted as saying “More than anything else, I wanted to go to Annapolis and become an officer in the Navy. It was a terrible disappointment when I didn't make it.”

The American public may have lost the chance at a great officer, but John Wayne never failed us. He worked closely with the USO in supporting the U.S. Troops from World War II through to Vietnam. His personal visits cheered and encouraged many a young service man. I too was caught up in this and John Wayne’s example was one of the main reasons I decided to enlist in the Air Force and volunteered for three straight tours in Vietnam. “Duke”, a name he was affectionately known as by millions of soldiers, wore Capt. Stephen P. Hanson’s POW bracelet after the Marine was shot down over Laos out of Vietnam. Sadly, Hanson never made it back home, but John Wayne stayed in contact with his wife and young son for years.

John Wayne had numerous honors bestowed upon him. During a visit to Vietnam in 1966 he was given a tribal bracelet by the Montagnard people. In 1973 he was honored with the Veterans Of Foreign Wars highest award, The National Americanism Gold Medal. Congress additionally awarded “Duke” the Congressional Gold Medal in 1979.

John Wayne loved his country and he loved its traditions. He once said “Sure I wave the American Flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I’m not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be.”

John Wayne died June 11, 1979, fighting the one enemy whose ass he could not whip. Here are my all time TOP FIVE favorite movie lines from “Duke”.

1. "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." (The Shootist)

2. Speaking to his young cavalry lieutenants: "Don't apologize—it's a sign of weakness." (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)

3. "Fill your hands, you sonofabitch!" (True Grit)

4. "That'll be the day!" (The Searchers - Spoken several times; inspired Buddy Holly to write a song with that title.)

5. "I haven't lost my temper in 40 years; but, Pilgrim, you caused a lot of trouble this morning; might have got somebody killed; and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won't. I won't. The hell I won't!" (He belts him). (To Leo Gordon in McLintock!).

I will remember the rest of my life where I was when President John F. Kennedy was killed, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy. When I got the news of “Duke’s” death, I was at my office. I excused myself from a staff meeting I was having, went into my private office, closed the door, and cried. With the possible exception of Bob Hope, I have never known anyone in my lifetime who did more for the troops, was prouder of his country and would defend her with his last dying breath.

For what it’s worth, John Wayne was my hero.

Dave

WHO WAS YOUR HERO? POST YOUR STORY HERE!


[edit on 1/12/2008 by Dave Rabbit]

Jesus, John Wayne, JFK, Paul Wellstone, Bill Clinton, James T. Kirk, Princess Diana ... these were my heros because they made me feel that truth, knowledge, and love can defeat darkness and evil every time. The gave me hope for the future. That we as a species would overcome our differences and work together to advance knowledge, to protect Mother Earth and all her children, and to rid the Earth of evil.

Our children would inherit a future filled with the peace, intelligence, and love made for them by their forefathers. And they in turn would pass it on to their children even better and more beautiful.

I do not feel that way anymore. Growing up is a b*tch...

I do not trust anyone anymore, especially our government! But I can dream of the day when I used to believe.... it was nice.

And John Wayne... he was/is one of the best ever. Thanks for the great post.

Hmm John Wayne didn't serve a day in World War Two and later on supported the Mccarthy trials and was hawkish when it came to the Vietnam war.......
As for heroes it much as I like popcorn chewing war and action films I have and had the real thing with my Pa and my Dad . I can remember my dad telling me that my Pa was nearly killed when a truck rolled he never mentioned to my Nana.

I really don't have one hero. To me a hero is one that without a second thought would save a life without thinking of his own. Firefighters, Rescue guys that drop down from helicopters to save your a*s before you drown knowing they could drown along with you. Ordinary citizens that would save you from disaster just because they could. Doctors who can operate on you and pull a couple of bullets out of you, sow up your heart and say to ya " your gonna be ok " My children who look up at me as a hero when they are really the heroe's and the future of mankind. And last but on top of my list is a soldier who is watching our backs and defending his country. He or she has their families in mind and the rights and freedoms of everyone of us. We all know they don't want to go to war, but when it's called upon them to do so, they do it with courage and bravery that alot of us couldn't do. So those are my heroe's.

Funny but John is also my fathers hero he has his collection of movies. My hero? . . . I don't really have one.

But I love watching dirty harry and death wish

Uncle Fester on the Adam's Family.

This just goes to prove what television has done to people
Keep watching your fanasty's while I see the real world with real people with real problems.

Edit just to say, " Nothing against you Dave, but come on! get real". "Real life is much more exciting if you get out there and live it!!"

[edit on 11/13/2007 by Solarskye]

My heros were and/or are:

My brother for what he did in Viet Nam and the way he came back with the scars over 60%+ of his body and showed the world how to live life to the fullest, and for the 20+ years he gave law enforcement.

My dad for his efforts in WWII and the humble, devoted, gentle and good man he has been all of my life....and for showing me what true integrity means.

My grandpa for just being him. For the awesome frontier buck he was, and the way he mellowed and was a model to all who knew him...and the way he was able to put up with my grandma...o_O

reply to post by Valhall


Now that's real life and things that matters

There's a time to be funny and a time to realize that you only live life once and that's the most precious time you can give to your family and friends.

Everyone, can we PLEASE not ruin this thread by disrespecting someone else's Hero?

What does it get you to do that? What kind of weird satisfaction?

DAVE:

I too have always considered John Wayne as a personal hero.

It may not surprise you, but I have an entire section of my Den devoted to him... My Den is half Marines and Half John Wayne...

I don't know what movie he said it in, but I have a JW Cup that quotes him saying..
"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."

I also like:
"Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid.”

Sergeant John M. Stryker (Sands of Iwo Jima):
"A lot of guys make mistakes, I guess, but every one we make, a whole stack of chips goes with it. We make a mistake, and some guy don't walk away - forevermore, he don't walk away."

Capt. Rockwell Torrey (In Harm's Way):
"All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be some place else."


There are so many more.. He was one heck of a man...

Semepr

I was always fond of...

"slap some bacon on a biscuit boys and let's roll, we're burning daylight!"

reply to post by semperfortis

It's my answer to Dave's question. Do I not have the right to answer his question in my own opinion? You poted your view and I'll post mine. Chill!!


Oh just had to edit to say if that " if you're stupid" was towards me then you can just keep watching your tv and the money they made to make you laugh, cry, or say the things you said.

[edit on 11/13/2007 by Solarskye]

No one needs to "chill", there has been no "Unchilling" going on.

The point I was trying to express is that no one is questioning anyones "RIGHT" to post... That's plain silly...

The question was..

If you don't have anything to say directly addressed to a thread with positive tones like this one, why post anything at all?

Having the right to do a thing does not necessarily mean you should do a thing..

What pleasure did you derive from posting such negatives like this..

but come on! get real

Keep watching your fanasty's

Did Dave or another poster here harm you in one of your threads previously? That you would disrespect him having a hero you disapprove of?

You have the "right" to post whatever you want to, I was just wondering why you would..

Dave obviously thinks very highly of the man and has for some period of time. I think it is grand for anyone to have a hero, real, imagined or otherwise. If I did not, I certainly would not disrespect them for it.

Semper

What I said was real and I didn't disrespect Dave in anyway. He's got his heroe's and I got mine. Mine just happens to be real characters in a real world and Dave's is in a tv fantasy. I didn't say anything bad about John Wayne or his life. I like John Wayne myself and wouldn't disrespect him. But you don't need to be an A about it and try to start trouble. I will say what I want to say as long as it abides by ATS's T & C.

My Gosh, is this what the world is coming to. TV is only an opinion too!!
You can believe it or not. For me the real people is what matters. TV stars get paid good money for acting while the people in real life get real life. This is a forum and I have a right to my opinions.

[edit on 11/14/2007 by Solarskye]

reply to post by yankeerose


Bill Clinton and truth in the same sentence???????

Without even thinking my Dad was my hero. He was a member of the Air Force during the early days of the VietNam. He married a beautiful woman and had 3 great kids. He was an auto mechanic, who prior to meeting my mom loved to race cars, drive speed boats and hang with his friends. After meeting my mom, he gave all of that up and never looked back. He worked 7 days a week, often for 12 hours a day when I was young. He did everything for his kids. He eventually opened his own auto repair shop and ran it for 30 years, making it one of the longer running businesses in our town. He was able to put 3 kids through school on his salary and his savings. We all graduated with no debt thanks to him, and all ended up with rather good jobs in 3 different fields. My sister being a top doctor in her field. I can't thank him enough for everything he did for all of us. Sadly we lost him 2 years ago at the young age of 64 to cancer. A cancer the doctors have told us was directly related to the chemicals he used at work. He gave his life for us. No one can ever replace him in my heart, he missed by more than just his family. At the wake just about every customer of his came up to me with a story about him, whether it was a 2:00 road call to fix a flat or not charging him for fixing a noise. I worked through highschool and college at the shop and know many of the customers for a long time and one story I liked was the time a customer brought his car in for a noise. He had taken it to the dealer, but they found nothing wrong. So he kept the car for about a week, driving it when ever he could. The noise was going around turns. Finally one day when he was driving it, he heard the noise and pulled right off the side of the road. He then emptied the guys trunk right there on the road. Then he took the spare tire out of the well in the trunk only to find a golf ball down under the tire. This golf ball would roll as he drove around turns and bang into the walls of the tire well. Noise found.....noise fixed. What do you charge a guy for taking a golf ball out of his trunk, depite spending about 10 hours on the car? He asked him to buy coffee and they had a big laugh over the whole thing. His firends stilll stop by my mom's house with cards and notes for her and often drive over to mine. I thank all of them for helping me keep him alive in my heart!

Probably not what everyone wanted to hear, but its what I wanted to say.

Yattahey!

The Duke was something.

My true American Hero was my Grandfather. He was a MM1 on the original WWII sub the USS Seawolf (SS-197) The Seawolf has sunk more tonnage than any other sub in US History. She was sunk by our own Navy in a friendly fire accident. I never met the man, but I will never forget him. I was able to read about the patrols, and these guys were real heros. The skipper was called "Fearless Freddy Warder". I use the name and my avatar is the original boat logo to honor him. I served to follow him. He is still on patrol.

And, then there is always Joe Montana. Wow, I was lucky enough to meet him.

The Duke is a pretty controversial figure --

redlightnaps.wordpress.com...

I gotta say my old man. "Fought" in 'Nam as a cook -- he'd go on and on about there being bole weevils in anything they tried cooking and would give it to the troops anyway! Plus, he's got countless stories about growing up in Brooklyn that are either hilarious or pretty revealing for a guy you'd never pin as a ex-grunt -- the draft "was what it was, so I had to serve our country." I get teary-eyed w/ his honest depiction of a true hero.... plus, the guy can still drink me under the table! Lastly, fishing and crabbing trips were the best w/ the guy when I was young. We'd often bring tales home to mom and sis about the "one that got away." I never thought I'd write something like this about the self-proclaimed, "GLD" -- good-looking dad -- but he rules and I gotta call him a personal hero.

Bill Hicks.

More than just a comedian, how we need him now.

RIP Bill.

If your talking about Heros then i cannot let this post go by without adding to it..
For me Carl Sagan changed not only my way of thinking about things, but pretty much my entire way of life.

From an early age Ive always been a thinker, pondering the questions we still seem to have no answers for despite the constant leaps and bounds forward we make as a race in science, imagination and technology..one of the things i learned from studying Carl Sagan was to look at things in a differnet way, a different world view if you like.
We've all seen the picture that immediatly looks to us like a candlestick or a vase or something or other, until you look closly and study the picture and realise its actually 2 faces facing each other... the candlestick we thought we were looking at isnt there at all, its simply the space in between..
to change your world view in a similar way, to flip the way you look at things, the way you ponder the great questions in life, the questions that really matter - well its made a huge difference to my "quest" for knowledge and understanding. It really does work ...for me anyway.

Regardless of all the theorys and the sightings and the abductions storys and the documents and the artifacts floating around, some we believe, some we dont, one thing im sure we all agree on is this-

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known"
Carl Sagan