26Audie Murphy's Military Acceptance
The Marines rejected actor Audie Murphy after he enlisted in 1942 for being too short, and the Navy rejected him for being too skinny. The Army accepted him, but initially hesitated to send him into combat because he appeared so young. He went on to receive every Army military valor award available.
27. The youngest American serviceman in World War II, Calvin Graham, enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 12. During the Battle of Guadalcanal, he sustained wounds and received a dishonorable discharge due to his false enlistment age. Later, Congress restored his veterans' benefits.
28. Deborah Sampson became the first female American soldier to enlist in the Revolutionary War under her deceased brother's name. After suffering a wound, she cut a musket ball out of her own leg to prevent doctors from discovering her gender.
29. Chuck Yeager enlisted as a private, worked as an aircraft mechanic before becoming a pilot, was shot down over France but escaped, achieved 11.5 aerial victories, broke the sound barrier and multiple speed records as a test pilot, and retired from the US Air Force after 34 years as a brigadier general.
30. When Sir Peter Ustinov enlisted in the British Army during World War II, he requested tank duty because, he claimed, "you can go into battle sitting down." His superiors concluded that they couldn't put him in charge of others and instead assigned him to the infantry.
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31Vietnam War 'Fragging' Incidents
During the Vietnam War, authorities investigated over 800 murders or attempted murders of superior officers by enlisted soldiers. The term 'fragging' emerged due to the frequent use of fragmentation grenades in these attacks.
32. At birth, Johnny Cash was named J. R. Cash. When he enlisted in the United States Air Force, officials required him to use a full first name, leading him to change it to John R. Cash. In 1955, after signing with Sun Records, he began using the name Johnny Cash.
33. Golden Girl Bea Arthur enlisted in the Marines in 1943 as one of the first members of the Women's Reserve, and served as a typist and truck driver.
34. American Samoa, with a population of less than 60,000, has the highest rate of military enlistment of any U.S. state or territory. The local Army recruitment station in Pago Pago ranked #1 in production out of 885 Army recruiting stations in both 2014 and 2015.
35. In 1787, British authorities hanged a man for deserting and re-enlisting in the British Army 47 times in an attempt to repeatedly claim the large bounty given upon joining.
