Though many had questioned John Wayne's getting an exemption from military service during World War II, it was not entirely his fault. Duke was exempted from service due to his age (34 at the time of Pearl Harbor) and family status, classified as 3-A (family deferment). He repeatedly wrote to John Ford, asking to be placed in Ford's military unit, but Ford consistently postponed it until after he had finished one more film. John Wayne did not attempt to prevent his reclassification as 1-A (draft eligible), but Republic Pictures was emphatically resistant to losing him; Herbert J. Yates, President of Republic, threatened Duke with a lawsuit if he walked away from his contract and Republic intervened in the Selective Service process, requesting his further deferment. During World War II, John Wayne dedicated himself to volunteering whatever spare time he had to the war effort. Some of his contributions included serving up Thanksgiving turkeys at the Hollywood Canteen, going on tour with the United Service Organizations (USO) in the South Pacific, and portraying the American serviceman with dignity, bravery, and rectitude. Just after wrapping up Christmas festivities with his family in the final days of 1942, John Wayne embarked on a three-month tour with the USO that would take him to American bases in Australia, New Britain, and New Guinea. Decades later, Duke continued to lift troops’ spirits by visiting the frontlines of Vietnam, proving his lifelong commitment to America’s soldiers. Even though he had visited troops before, it offered him an opportunity to interact extensively with regular soldiers in the field during an active conflict in an informal way. He spent his tour in close quarters with grunts and regular GI’s laboring in the trenches without much attention coming their way until John Wayne showed up. #JohnWayne #JohnWayneValues #JohnWayneExperience