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Showing posts from November, 2015

A Soldier's Story: Private Rod Serling

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Private Rod Serling was born December 25, 1924, to Ester Cooper and Samuel Lawrence Sterling. His parents encouraged his story-telling talent, and during high school, Private Rod Serling was on the debate team, wrote for the school newspaper, and spoke at his high school graduation. He enlisted in the US Army the day after he graduated in response to World War II  and served as a member of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division. Serving during combat was incredibly challenging for Private Rod Serling. However, he completed his time of service and earned a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and the Philippine Liberation Medal. Private Rod Serling used the GI bill to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from Antioch College and began writing scripts for both radio and television. His best-known show is the Twilight Zone, which allowed him to portray current issues, such as racism,  from a science fiction perspective, allowing the content to bypass the censo

A Sailor's Story: Captain Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

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Captain Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was impressively active throughout his life. He began his acting career at 14 and ultimately participated in about 100 productions. At the start of World War II,  he joined the US Naval Reserves and served actively until May of 1946, retiring from the reserves in 1954. Captain Fairbanks developed the tactic behind the Beach Jumper program, a military deception unit. In addition to earning several medals during World War II, including a Silver Star and a Legion of Merit, Captain Fairbanks also has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He wrote an autobiography, "Salad Days," in 1988 and related his WWII experiences in the book "A Hell of a War," published in 1993. Captain Douglas Fairbanks died on May 7, 2000, and rests in Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* **************************************** a.d. elliott is a wanderer, writer, and photo