John Wayne is a monumental character in film history and Americana. He stands for patriotism, honor, and courage in the face of wrongdoers. There is one shadow on John Wayne’s career and character that never seemed to fade away and haunted him even beyond the grave, his lack of military service.
“They Were Expendable” was a John Ford film released in 1945. The film starred John Wayne, Robert Montgomery, and Donna Reed. It was a military film about a Navy commander proving the battle-worthiness of the PT-Boat at the start of World War 2. Wayne and John Ford had made, and would go on to make, many classic films together like “Stagecoach”, “The Searchers”, and “The Quiet Man”. It was during this film that Ford would say something so incredibly cruel to Wayne that The Duke would walk off set for the first and only time in his career.
John Wayne was exempted from military service due to his age at the time of World War 2 (34) and his family status. He expressed interest in signing up anyway proven by his letters to Ford asking to join in his troop and even had his wartime application accepted but the letter to inform Wayne of his acceptance was sent to his estranged wife who never bothered to tell him. So Wayne carried on civilian and Hollywood life making films and visiting injured soldiers in Southern Pacific hospitals. Despite all the reasons for his lack of service, he could never forgive himself for not joining before the end of the war. His guilt would carry on to the grave.
On the set of “They Were Expendable” most of the male actors were soldiers. Each of them had their ranks listed in the film’s credits, which made John Wayne’s “rankless” name stick out like a sore thumb. During the filming of an early scene, about four minutes into the film, Wayne and Montgomery both salute the general’s car as he drives away. It was a simple scene but Ford (who was famous for his low number of takes) called for a second. After the second take, Ford called for a third. Both professional actors started the third take and in the middle Ford called, “Cut!” and he yelled to Wayne, “Duke, can’t you manage a salute that at least looks as though you’ve been in the service?”
“Duke, can’t you manage a salute that at least looks as though you’ve been in the service?”
John Ford
Duke, Wayne, was devastated and humiliated. He walked off the set and didn’t return. The filming was halted for the day. Montgomery was enraged. He walked up to Ford and said, “Don’t you ever speak like that to anyone again.” He then told Ford he must apologize. Ford was stubborn at first but relented and realized he had been cruel.
“Don’t you ever speak like that to anyone again”
Robert Montgomery
John Ford and John Wayne remained close friends and coworkers after this producing some great films. When Ford was on his death bed they called Wayne and he came as soon as possible, flying out in a helicopter. They shared brandy together and he died the next day on August 31st, 1973. “It’s rough to put a fellow away that you spent forty-five years of your life with, in close communication,” Wayne said later.
Much of this article is informed by “Searching for John Ford” by Joseph McBride. I’d like to thank Mr. McBride for his wonderful and informative biography. If you would like to see more film history every day please follow This Day in Film History on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Jon Shai Van Sickle
Jon Shai Van Sickle is the owner and operator of This Day in Film History. He is a filmmaker as well as a film historian. He currently lives in Utah.
Robert Montgomery was a great guy.
John Rizzo
July 9, 2021
Yes, he was.
admin
July 9, 2021
Wayne had 2 regrets that haunted him to the grave.
He did miss serving in the military.
He also regretted cheating on his first wife.
It was hard on his children.
It ruined a good marriage.
It was totally self serving.
His words.
John McCracken
July 9, 2021
It would be rough to live with those regrets.
admin
July 9, 2021
John Wayne had tore up his knee playing football and lost his scholarship and that’s when he started working for the movie studios and where he met Wyatt Earp. That bad knee probably would have kept him out of the military also.
Milt
July 9, 2021
Awe, the Duke got his feelings hurt when Ford called him out for not serving. “He always regretted not serving.” That’s a fancy way of letting him off when other famous movie stars like James Stewart served with dignity. I hope he didn’t make the Duke cry. Little snowflake.
Hank2001
July 11, 2021
JOHN WAYNE: HE HAS BEEN & ALWAYS WILL BE ” MY IDOL OF A TRUE AMERICAN WHO LOVED THIS COUNTRY, A FATEFUL CITIZEN . HE ONLY MADE CLEAN MOVIES WITH GREAT STORIES . I HAVE LOOKED UP TO HIM ALL MY LIFE, HAVE SEEN EVERY MOVIE HE EVER MADE. I LOVE WHAT HIS FAMILY HAS DONE TO & FOR HIS MEMORY. I STILL SEE ALL HIS MOVIES ON TV OVER & OVER, I NEVER TIRE OF THEM. EVERY CHRISTMAS I GET HIS BIG CALENDAR THAT I KEEP ALL MY APPOINTMENTS WRITTEN DOWN IN & HANG IT ABOVE MY COMPUTER SO I LOOK AT HIM EVERYDAY. GOD BLESS ‘ JOHN WAYNE’.
BILLIE BASYE
July 12, 2021
I have read a different account…about why Wayne did not enter the military. He had not been drafted and decided not to join as it would interfere with his career. That is what I read in one account about his life. I am not saying that is true but it sounds very plausible to me. Also, while Wayne made many excellent films I do not consider him an American hero…although I am sure I am in the minority on this. Because he sold his friends out during the period of Communist Witch Hunting in the early 1950s when many show-biz people were black-balled. Some were Wayne’s friends but he sold them all out. He was a traitor to that and was more like Sen. McCarthy, the witch-hunter. So, I have no respect for John Wayne. He made some excellent films but otherwise his memory means nothing to me.
M. Wadle
September 21, 2021
He also had an injury that kept him out of the military. Either from football or surfing.
Mark Stone
September 22, 2021