Celebrity military records go public

From the likes of McQueen to Clark Gable to Joe Louis, the U.S. military has a long history of taking celebrities into its ranks, usually with happy results. Jimmy Stewart, after all, enlisted right after Pearl Harbor and went on to fly 20 combat missions as a command pilot in World War II.
Sometimes, the brass must have wondered whether the famous names were worth the trouble.
When Elvis enlisted in 1957 at the height of his teen-frenzy popularity, a storm of letters swept over Washington. Fans such as Lawrence Grickson and his wife pleaded with first lady Mamie Eisenhower to make the Army return Elvis to the stage.