When watching movies and TV shows it is easy to forget that our favorite A-list stars had lives before they became famous. For many actors and actresses, a life in the military was observed before they entered our movie theaters and homes. In some instances, famous movie and TV stars chose to join the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy, at the very height of their successful acting careers.

From Allied troops on the D-Day beaches to Resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Europe, here are celebrities who risked their lives in war, for their countries

1. Elvis Presley

Shortly after Elvis Presley was hailed as the King of Rock and Roll, he was inducted into the Fort Chaffee U.S. Army as a private and was assigned near Ford Smith in Arkansas. After his basic training at Fort Hood, he became part of the 3rd Armored Division in Friedberg, Germany and was paid ordinary wages. He donated most of his earnings to charity.

2. Tony Bennett

Italian American singer Anthony Dominick Benedetto, more popularly known as Tony Bennett, was drafted into the United States Army during World War II and underwent special training at Fort Dix and Fort Robinson to be promoted as an infantry rifleman. Sometime in 1945, he was also assigned as a replacement to the 255th Infantry Regiment of the 63rd Infantry Division.

3. Alan Alda

Born on January 28, 1936, American actor and director Alan Alda finished his studies in Paris and was an active Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) member. Shorty after he graduated college, he decided to join the US Army Reserve and underwent basic training as a gunnery officer within a period of six months. He also served for a year at Fort Benning in Georgia.

4. Charlton Heston

The film, theater, and television actor Charlton Heston has always been a political activist. In 1944, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces and became a radio operator and an aerial gunner at B-25 Mitchell, which was then stationed around the Alaskan Aleutian Islands with the Eleventh Air Force. He served the military for two years and became a Staff Sergeant before he rose to fame as an actor.

5. Tom Selleck

Best known for his private investigator role in television series Magnum P.I., Tom Selleck was once part of the 160th Infantry Regiment of the California Army National Guard where he served as a soldier. In the course of his stay in the military, his unit was stationed in Los Angeles in order to control the historical six-day L.A. riot known as Watts Riots.

6. Ernest Borgnine

Italian immigrant and multi-awarded actor Ernest Borgnine joined the United States Navy sometime in 1935, shortly after he graduated high school from James Hill House High School in Connecticut. After he was discharged in 1941, he enlisted again to serve the military, particularly the United States Navy. Following the bombing of the Pearl Harbor, he was promoted as the gunner’s mate 1st class rank and held several other positions.

7. Sir Sidney Poitier

Sir Sidney Poitier is a Bahamian-American actor who was named as one of the Greatest Male Stars of All Time in 1999. At age 15, he moved to New York City and worked as a dishwasher and waiter. His desire to serve the United States Army during his late adolescence came after reading a newspaper and learning about the need for more military volunteers in the United States.

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