Reddit mentions of John Wayne: My Life With the Duke

I am actually a fan of many of John Wayne's movies, but his place in popular culture as the prototypical tough man, super patriot and hero is a overstated myth, and he is a fascinating man because of that. He was a flawed man, who openly held very racist views, married multiple wives and carried on affairs, and was ultimately a hypocrite for his vehement pro war position, while avoiding service himself.

He repeatedly wrote John Ford saying he wanted to enlist, on one occasion inquiring whether he could get into Ford's military unit, but consistently kept postponing it until after "he finished just one or two pictures". But he never strongly pursued enlisting, and he worked with his studio to get deferments for the draft. The reality was it is possible he would not have been nearly the star he was competing in a field that was not narrowed by so many others serving. It seems the idea that a misplaced letter from an angry wife would not have stopped him if he truly wanted to join, the truth is more likely he enjoyed the stardom and joining the military would have likely hurt his career.

His third wife Pilar Wayne wrote in her book Life with the Duke, that he became "a 'superpatriot' for the rest of his life trying to atone for staying home." The films he made and the attitudes he expressed later in life, seem to be over compesating for the fact he did not serve, when many other did.