Who Would Have Thought These Celebrities Used To Serve In The Army?

James Earl Jones

American actor and voice of Lion King‘s Mufasa, James Earl Jones rose to fame after he quit his military service.

He was on duty during the time of the Korean War, between 1953 and 1955. Jones expected to see active duty but instead, he was tasked to construct a cold-weather training station in Colorado. He attained the rank of first lieutenant before leaving and he was thinking about a chance to return in case his acting career didn’t work out. Thankfully it did in the end and he never had to return to service.

John Coltrane

Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane was trying to avoid the Army so he enlisted in the Navy instead, on the day that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

He was trained at Sampson Naval Training Station before being shipped to Pearl Harbor. By the time he got to Hawaii, the Navy was already reducing its personnel, so he had plenty of time to develop his musical skills with the base swing band, Melody Masters. By the time he was discharged, he already assumed leadership of the group – his first informal session being recorded on July 13, 1946.