John Wayne never actually had to register for the draft, instead starring in 18 films between 1941-1945, many of which had war-related themes that positioned him as a tough American hero who survived the impossible. With his A-lister status now well entrenched, there was no real reason he couldn’t enlist. His family had the money to stay afloat without him, Hollywood clearly loved him and would have welcomed him back with open arms, and director John Ford even had an “in,” getting Wayne to join the naval photography unit. But it didn’t happen. In 1944, Wayne received a 2-A classification, “deferred in support of [the] national … interest.” Meaning that he didn’t have to go to war because it was believed his performance on screen was just as important. Selective Service tried to revoke his deferments shortly after, but the studio system made an appeal and his 2-A status was reinstated until after the war had ended.

Historians believe that Wayne’s guilt inspired by his lack of serving in the war was a major contributing factor to his eventual zealous nationalism and white supremacist ideals. It’s hard to have empathy for someone who completely took advantage of a studio system in need of movie stars because the regular go-to’s were off serving in the war while John Wayne’s support and activism started and stopped with his own quest for fame. 

Meanwhile, superstar Marlene Dietrich also couldn’t serve in the war due to her gender but dedicated countless hours and dollars to helping Jews escape Germany, publicly called Hitler “an idiot” for trying to cast her in propaganda films and put on more than 500 performances for Allied troops throughout the war.