this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
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Bullshit. At 21, he was eligible for conscription as any other male US citizen, and so he was conscripted.
A peaceful stint with the NATO forces in Germany was typical at the time. I don't think any US conscripts saw battle during these years.
It’s common that VIP and celebrity conscriptions, where military service is voluntary, are mostly a propaganda stunt.
While the propaganda entices young people to go to the battle front because someone has to go, It’s also very common for celebrities to be sheltered from any real harm, since that could be detrimental to conscription.
Jimmy Stewart, David Niven, and Clark Gable are three stars that survived serving in combat roles in WW2. Musician Glenn Miller joined the Air Corps and entertained the troops. MIA, later declared dead when the plane transporting went missing while crossing the English Channel. So much for being sheltered. John Wayne did not volunteer to join the military like the others mentioned.
Yes. That's a good use of resources. Any country will do it that way, and has done it that way. The engineers develop new weapons. The workers build them. Entertainers do propaganda. Anyone else goes to the front.
However, during Elvis Presley's time to serve, there was no hot war being fought. I don't think US conscripts were sent into battle between the end of the UN operation in Korea/the Korean War, and some time after the Gulf of Tonkin incident.