In Arlington Cemetery there’s the Tomb Of The Unknown Solder, nearby is the tomb of heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Beside Joe lie the remains of a well known actor who made top movies but wanted to be known for what he he considered his greatest role in life, a Marine. The actor is Lee Marvin.
A tough guy in real life, not just the movies. He said that an important lesson he learned as a Marine was, “Life is every man for himself. You can’t ever let your guard down, and the most useless word in the world is ‘help.’” The military life was in his blood, his father Lamont had fought with distinction in WW1 and had taught Lee and his brother Robert how to use firearms.
When war broke out Lee didn’t hesitate and wanted to join the best. “I believed I was going to be killed. I just wanted to die in the very best outfit. There are ordinary corpses, and Marine corpses. I figured on the first-class kind and joined up.” Lamont and Robert also joined up. Lee showed himself to be proficient with his rifle and became a sniper.
He saw action at The Marshall Islands and later The Marianas. It was here that he received a serious wound. A round from a machine gun ripped through his lower back, narrowly missing the spinal cord, and severing his sciatic nerve, it tore a nine-by-three-inch hole in Lee’s buttocks. For him the war was over.
He spent the next 13 months in military hospital. He was awarded a Purple Heart and a Presidential Unit Citation, a letter of commendation with a ribbon and campaign medals.
The three family members were lucky to have survived, all returned home but all suffered from depression. Lamont suffered a complete breakdown. Lee tried to rejoin but found himself disqualified due to his wounds. He became a plumber but missed the camaraderie of the Marines. One day while working on a blocked toilet of a theatre his attention was drawn to the camaraderie of the players and he realised then that this would be a substitute for the corps.
He decided to become an actor.
The humble final resting place of Lee in comparison to the larger tomb of Joe Louis. They were both great men.