Sadly, the legendary actor Gene Hackman is no longer with us. We are left only with the stories of his friends and family, and his huge and amazing body of work.
But some of those stories from friends and family are just as good as his movies!
Case in point: Prior to becoming one of the best actors of all time, Hackman was a young man who loved his country. In fact, he adored America so much that he lied about his age, just so that he could enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Hackman Joins The Marines
Born in 1930, Hackman was just 16 years-old when he lied about his age so that he could join the Marines – in 1946 no less. The Department of Defense has said that this was a common practice at the time, as many young American men were just as eager to serve their country as Hackman was.
During his time in the Marines, Hackman served as a radio operator. He eventually went into broadcast journalism, becoming an announcer on the Armed Forces Radio.
Reporting the news wasn’t all that Hackman did during his time in the Marines, however. Indeed, Hackman was first sent Qingdao before being stationed in Shanghai in the middle of the Chinese Civil War. There Hackman and his fellow Marines were tasked with destroying Japanese military equipment to keep it out of the hands of the Communists.
Hackman took part in Operation Beleaguer, which resulted in thirteen of his fellow Marines being killed and 43 more being wounded. After the U.S. withdrew from China, Hackman spent the rest of his time in the Marines in Japan and Hawaii, and was discharged in 1951 after a motorcycle accident. Afterwards, Hackman used the GI Bill to attend the University of Illinois, where he studied journalism and television production.
So in a way, you could credit the GI Bill with producing perhaps America’s finest actor.
Related: Gene Hackman, 95, And Wife Found ‘Mummified’ – Police Say Deaths Are ‘Suspicious’
Hackman Honored The Military With His Movies
During his decades-long career in Hollywood, Hackman starred in various movies that prominently featured the U.S. military. These films included A Bridge Too Far, Uncommon Valor, Bat*21, Crimson Tide, and Behind Enemy Lines.
Hackman retired from acting in 2004. However, he later came out of retirement to narrate two movies about the Marines: The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima in 2016 and We, the Marines in 2017.
Watch Hackman talk about why he joined the Marines in the video below.
Hackman’s Death
Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa, who he’d been married to since 1991, were found dead in their Santa Fe mansion on Wednesday afternoon.
Police have since said that the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation.” They added that Arakawa was found in a bathroom. Meanwhile, Hackman’s body was found in the home’s mudroom. Deputies said that it looked like he had “suddenly fallen.”
Hackman’s military service shows that he was a true American hero. If only we had more stars like him in Hollywood these days!
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