⚡️🎥 SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL: https://bit.ly/TheGoldenAgeonYT ------------------------------- The Germans considered him enemy number one, and Adolf Hitler put a price of $5,000 dollars on his head. But what exactly did Clark Gable do to gain this sort of attention? In 1942, Clark Gable was emotionally and physically devastated by the loss of his wife, Carole Lombard. The actress had been returning from a war bond tour in Indiana with her mother, Bess Peters, Clark Gable’s press agent, Otto Winkler, and 15 Army soldiers when their plane crashed in Nevada. The cause of the crash was determined to be linked to the crew’s inability to properly navigate over the mountains surrounding Las Vegas. Due to possible Japanese bomber aircraft entering American airspace, safety beacons used to direct night flights had been turned off leaving the crew blind to mountains in the flight path. Soon after Lombard's death, Gable joined the United States Army Air Forces. She had repeatedly asked him to do this numerous times after the US had entered World War II. At age 40, Gable was a bit old for military service but he didn’t let this stop him. He sent President Franklin D. Roosevelt a telegram asking for a role in the war effort. The president replied, “STAY WHERE YOU ARE.” Of course, Gable did not. He enlisted as a private in the Army Air Force on Aug. 12, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. He then entered a 13-week Officer Candidate School in Miami Beach, Florida and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28. He was trained as a photographer and aerial gunner. Due to his booming Hollywood career, Gable headed a six-man motion picture unit attached to a B-17 bomb group in England to film aerial gunners in combat. The unit was called the First Motion Picture Unit (FMPU) and was located at ‘Fort Roach,’ which was the Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California. Other stalwarts included Alan Ladd, Jack Warner, Ronald Reagan, Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz, and Van Heflin. While in England, on personal orders from Gen. Hap Arnold, Gable filmed “Combat America,” a propaganda movie about aerial gunners in combat. Even though he was not ordered nor expected to do so, Gable flew more than five operational missions over Europe in B-17s to obtain the footage he believed was required for producing the film. The FMPU completed 300 training and propaganda films and was responsible for 3,000,000 feet of combat footage. Reagan, who went on to become president, called the film office: “an important contribution to the war effort.” In 1942, clerk Corp. Calvert P’Pool wrote to his parents: “Today, Clark Gable is supposed to arrive to be assigned to our group. They tell us he is the same as any other soldier-officer (1st Lt). But they had a carpenter build a special luggage rack in a bomber here and the bomber has gone to Los Angeles for him and is to return this afternoon. He will be a top gunner in a bomber.” P’Pool wrote that the 351st would become “a pretty nice outfit with me and Clark Gable. Tell the boys hello and tell ’em me and Clark Gable are putting this 351st outfit in shape.” “They were very real missions in which he could have been wounded or killed. His film “Combat America” makes a valuable contribution to our historical knowledge of the war from the flyer’s perspective these days.” - Chrystopher J. Spicer Adolf Hitler, who was actually one of Clark Gable’s biggest fans, posted a $5,000 reward to anyone who would capture Gable alive and bring him to Germany. After several attempts, Germany was never able to capture him. Gable returned to the US safe and sound in October 1943 and was relieved from his duty as a major on June 12, 1944 at his own request. Fellow actor Captain Ronald Reagan signed his discharge papers. For his service, Gable was awarded the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the American Campaign Medal, The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. After leaving the service, Gable first returned to his ranch and rested. It wasn’t long before he returned to acting in his first movie after World War II titled “Adventure.” At the age of 59, Clark Gable passed away on November 16, 1960 due to coronary thrombosis. He is interred in the Great Mausoleum, Memorial Terrace, at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park next to Carole Lombard and her mother. ------------------------------- ➜ FOLLOW THE GOLDEN AGE ⚡️🎥 INSTAGRAM - https://ift.tt/2Tq4TVI FACEBOOK - https://ift.tt/3cQOlhl ------------------------------- ➜ Music ♫ Music by Atomica Music Library Song: Red White And Blue Composer(s): Max DiCarlo ------------------------------- FTC - This video is NOT sponsored. Some affiliate links may be are used. While they do not cost you anything, I will receive a tiny commission percentage from the sale. by The Golden Age
