Glenn Miller (band leader) story

[antmaril]

The Glenn Miller Story is one of my favorite movies of all time. I actually own it on DVD. Love it!

 

[EMom]

I love Glenn Miller's music and grew up knowing his story from my parents. When you consider he could have sat home and made a bundle of cash, his devotion to his fellow troops is even more admirable. One of my father's favorite actresses was June Allyson. He said she was the only woman he knew who smiled with her eyes.

Another interesting WWII death is that of Leslie Howard, who played Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind. There were all sorts of rumors as to why the Germans so viciously attacked the plane he was in, as they obviously targeted it. At first, it was thought the Germans had believed Churchill was onboard. But I have to go with the school of thought that there's no way they would have ever really believed Churchill was onboard an unguarded nonmilitary plane flying in broad daylight.

I tend to go more with them purposely targeting Howard himself because (1) he was very famous and well-liked in England and it would be a blow to the British to kill such a popular actor, but more importantly (2) he had been on many goodwill type tours which actually doubled as intelligence gathering missions. He was seen as a powerful propagandist. By killing him, the Germans got a two-fer. They took out someone who was actually accomplishing something and hit the British emotionally as well.