8 Western Icons that served in the U.S. Armed Forces
A single day out of the year is not nearly enough to thank those that have served or are currently serving our beloved country. Yet Veteran's Day is lovingly dedicated to American heroes and our part is to learn about and memorialize those who have passed on and honoring the individuals still fighting or have retired from the armed forces. Elie Wiesel, holocaust survivor and author wrote in his autobiography, Night, "For in the end, it is all about memory, its sources and its magnitude, and, of course, its consequences."
In honor of memory, I have compiled a short list of western heroes, past and present, that have influenced the lives we live today. Their time spent in the armed forces inspired and spurred their careers forward and have played significant parts in Western American culture.
Zach Bryan
Shortly after graduating high school, Bryan followed in the footsteps of some of his relatives and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2013. For eight years, he was stationed in Washington and Florida and was responsible for assembling, repairing and loading weapons, as well as serving tours in Bahrain and Djibouti. During his down time, he wrote, sang and posted clips of his country music on social media, and in 2021 was honorably discharged to pursue music.
Clint Eastwood
Known for his Western TV series Rawhide and other gritty cowboy films, Clint Eastwood is an icon that shaped the way film audiences saw the American Western genre. But before he came into the limelight, Eastwood spent a few years in the Army. From 1951 to 1953, the now 94-year-old served as a military swim instructor in Fort Ord, California during the Korean War. Although he was not at the battlefront per se, he was involved in a plane crash that put his swimming training to good use. He and the pilot had to swim a mile to shore.
George Strait
From 1971 to 1975, beloved and highly influential country singer, George Strait was enlisted in the U.S. Army. He had his basic training at Fort Polk, Louisianna, followed that up with AIT in Fort Ben Harrison in Indiana, and finally spent the last two and a half years in the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. He started singing country music while in Hawaii and got a job singing for the army, where his music career started to take off.
Johnny Cash
Prior to his country stardom, from 1950 to 1954, Johnny Cash served in the Air Force. Just after the start of the Korean War, he enlisted as John R. Cash and started his training in San Antonio at the Lackland Air Force Base. His training led him to be a radio intercept officer, where he used Morse Code to listen in on the Soviet Army radio while he was stationed in Germany. He was the first American to intercept reports on Stalin's death in 1953.
Willie Nelson
At the age of 17, country musician Willie Nelson enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950. Originally wanting to be a fighter pilot, Nelson trained at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, but was medically discharged due to back problems. Though his Air Force career was cut short, Nelson remains an avid advocate for veterans and supports advocacy groups such as Operation Firing for Effect, an organization that works to protect veterans' disability benefits.
Buffalo Bill
William F. Cody, famously known as "Buffalo Bill," a travelling icon of the "Wild West," was a veteran long before his days in the sptlight. He served for the Union in the Civil War and was an army scout in the Indian Wars. He got his nickname "Buffalo Bill" because of his notoriety for working as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army, hunting large quantities of buffalo to feed railroad workers. Thus began his career as one of the most famous cowboys ever.
Kris Kristofferson
From 1960 to 1965, country singer Kris Kristofferson served in the U.S. Army and became a U.S. Army Ranger. At Fort Rucker, Alabama, Kristofferson trained as a helicopter pilot, and also completed both Ranger and Airborne schools. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and eventually attained the rank of captain. While stationed in West Germany he formed a band and began his music career. He received the Veteran of the Year Award in 2003. His music more often than not reflects the lives of veterans and continues to pay tribute to those who have served and are serving.
Tim McCoy
Known as one of the greatest stars of American Western films, Tim McCoy has been the hero of over 100 Hollywood Western productions. Before his Hollywood career, however, McCoy was recognized as one of the youngest brigadiar generals in the history of the U.S. Army. He enlisted as a soldier in the U.S. Army and served in the cavalry during WWI and again in WWII. He rose to the rank of colonel with the Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces as well as becoming Wyoming's adjudant general. His love for the state was well known and his films have become classics for any Western film enthusiast.