12 Famous People That We Never Knew Served in Vietnam
2. Richard Chaves
Richard Chaves, who played the equally unfortunate Poncho, is not as famous as his Predator co-star. Despite his lower rank in the movie, Chaves had a proud career in the U.S. Marine Corps, donating three years to the Vietnam War.
He followed this tour of duty by relocating to Los Angeles, where a movie career awaited. A play Chaves created with friends led to roles in several movies, his collaboration with Arnold being the most prominent.
3. Harris Haywood
Harris Haywood was a celebrated racing driver who holds the joint-top honor for the most 24 Hours of Daytona wins. Moreover, he won 24-Hour Le Mans titles in 1977, 1983, and 1994, among many others.
Haywood was part of the 1970 Vietnam War draft, deployed with the 164th Aviation Group out of Saigon. Haywood said his service helped him become a better driver when he started racing in 1971. “I had a huge advantage over my peers at that point because they didn’t have that experience.”
4. Wes Studi
Native American actor and Oscar-winner Wes Studi is famous for The Last of the Mohicans (1992), his role as the titular character in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), and his role in Hostiles(2017). The actor’s finely poised, understated style gives him a definitive onscreen presence.
His warrior status in films parallels a brave decision he made at just 17 years old when he joined the Oklahoma National Guard. He served a one-year term, stationed in deep Viet Cong territory, where the atrocities he saw prompted an anti-war stance after his discharge.
5. Richard Kline
Richard Kline was a mildly famous sitcom personality, starring in the series Three’s Company (1977-1984) as Larry Dallas. He served in Vietnam after enlisting in the U.S. Army, though not before completing his MFA at Northwestern University.
He told Esther Ku on the podcast Ku and the Gang how he was struck by lightning while standing under an airplane wing in Phu Bai. He says how he was “suddenly transported…about eight feet onto the tarmac of the airport, and I couldn’t feel my legs.”
5. Richard Kline
Richard Kline was a mildly famous sitcom personality, starring in the series Three’s Company (1977-1984) as Larry Dallas. He served in Vietnam after enlisting in the U.S. Army, though not before completing his MFA at Northwestern University.
He told Esther Ku on the podcast Ku and the Gang how he was struck by lightning while standing under an airplane wing in Phu Bai. He says how he was “suddenly transported…about eight feet onto the tarmac of the airport, and I couldn’t feel my legs.”
7. Willie Miller
A 2019 VA News choice for “Veteran of the Day” is Willie Miller, who was a National Football League draft pick. Miller played running-back for the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Rams, though his military prowess is more notable.
Miller won top honors for his bravery — a Silver Star for saving many lives and a Purple Heart for being wounded in battle. In five-and-a-half years of service, he even made staff sergeant. Miller’s story should be more famous.
8. Dennis Franz
The star of NYPD Blue (1993-2005), Dennis Franz, has a long screen career and is no stranger to real-life action. In a 2015 Military.com article, he recounts how his curiosity got the better of him. The curiosity was short-lived.
“I experienced death over there, and losing friends,” Franz said. “I got as close to being shot as I care to. I could feel and hear bullets whizzing over my head, and that shakes you up quite a bit.”
9. Al Gore
While most people are familiar with John Kerry and John McCain’s service in Vietnam, few will know about Al Gore’s tour. Though he opposed the Vietnam War, Gore felt the calling and enlisted in 1969.
Unlike his draft-dodging Harvard peer Bill Clinton, Gore was one of only several Harvard alumni to enlist. The almost-president-elect has since made a name for himself in environmental activism.
10. Rocky Bleier
The former Notre Dame captain was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968 following his Pittsburgh Steelers rookie year. After enlisting in Vietnam, Bleier caught a bullet in his leg during an ambush. As he tried to escape, an enemy grenade exploded nearby, spreading shrapnel into his other leg.
Following multiple surgeries, he was told he would never play football again. After his discharge, an overweight, limping Bleier underwent rigorous training. Five years of struggle later, Bleier made the Steelers’ starting lineup, winning four Super Bowl rings in the process.
11. Dale Dye
The distinguished veteran of the silver screen, Dale Dye, appeared in dozens of films and TV shows. His resume is impressive, including the incredible World War II drama Band of Brothers (2001). However, his career wouldn’t have been possible without such a decorated military career.
Dye served 13 years as a Marine, making the rank of Master Sergeant. In an Oral Histories with Combat Veterans of America interview, Dye describes being bombarded by North Vietnamese artillery as he took cover in a hill bunker. His movie roles paled in comparison to his real-life duty.
12. Oliver Stone
Okay, you knew this one, but his story is remarkable. Oliver Stone made a name for himself with hard-hitting movie thrillers. Many of his plots centered around key moments in American history, none more so than his epic movie Platoon (1986).
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) mentions an extract from Stone’s memoirs when he describes being bombarded near the Cambodian border.
“The sound of small-arms fire, heavy artillery, and bombs hardly let up all night, bigger than any fireworks I’d ever seen,” writes Stone.
The scene he depicts in the book would later become a key scene in the movie.
