With it being a day removed from memorial day, we thought we’d look at a few of our favorite country singers who once served in the military.
George Strait
George has done it all. The King joined the Army the same year he got married at the age of 19 in ’71 and served 4 years where he was in an Army-sponsored band “Rambling Country”, which also played off-base under the name “Santee”.
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson went into the Air Force after graduating high school in 1950, but only served about nine months before his was medically discharged because of back problems. He went to Baylor next before starting his music career
George Jones
In 1951 George Jones was just 20-years-old and going through a divorce. When he couldn’t pay his ex-wife’s support a judge recommended George enlist in the United States Marine Corps. Seeing this as an opportunity to change his fortune, George Jones officially enlisted as a Marine on November 16th, 1951. It was in the Marine’s that he found music.
Johnny Cash
Cash enlisted in the United States Air Force on July 7, 1950. After basic training at Lackland Air Force Base and technical training at Brooks Air Force Base, both in San Antonio, Texas, Cash was assigned to the 12th Radio Squadron Mobile of the U.S. Air Force Security Service at Landsberg, West Germany. He worked as a Morse code operator intercepting Soviet Army transmissions. While at Landsberg he created his first band, “The Landsberg Barbarians”. On July 3, 1954, he was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant, and he returned to Texas. During his military service, he acquired a distinctive scar on the right side of his jaw as a result of surgery to remove a cyst.
Comments