Clark Gable's military service was probably one of the most interesting of any actor.
Clark Gable was a Hollywood icon and one of the most popular male sex symbols of the 1930s. He was officially crowned by Ed Sullivan as “The King of Hollywood”. He was adored by his fans which included Adolph Hitler.
Gable’s life changed forever when his beloved wife Carole Lombard died in a plane crash on January 16, 1942. She was killed in the crash of a DC-3 airliner on her way home from a war bonds tour and was declared to be the first war-related American female casualty of World War II. Gable was never the same again. He was emotionally devastated and started drinking heavily. He thought that joining the army would help him recover and decided to write a telegram to President Franklin D. Roosevelt asking him for a role in the war effort. Roosevelt advised him to stay in the United States, but Gable was determined to join the army.
Gable enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Corps on August 12, 1942, as a gunner. He completed the 13-week training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. At the time, the US Air Force needed a propaganda film that would help to recruit gunners so Gable was assigned to go to Britain to make a film entitled
Combat America.
When the Germans were informed that Gable was in Britain, they immediately announced they would be seeing him soon in Germany, hoping that they will manage to capture him. But Gable was not an easy target. He took part in many combat missions and almost lost his life during one bombing raid in Germany, but the Nazis were never able to capture him.
Hitler was frustrated that the Germans weren’t able to capture Gable alive and directed Hermann Goering to offer a reward to any pilot who could shoot Gable down. The information that there was a price on his head was depressing to Gable and he was afraid that the Germans might capture him, put him in a cage like a gorilla, and send him on a tour of Germany.
However, he was never captured and eventually was promoted to major. During his service, he earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal.
He was granted a discharge on June 12, 1944, at his request, and came back to the United States where he continued his reign as “The King of Hollywood.”
