While we understand the realities of war are far from glamorous, to some, service to one’s country through the military is the most remarkable display of love and patriotism. Notable actors like Buster Keaton, Morgan Freeman, and even Elvis Presley, the King of Rock & Roll, surprisingly went down that road.

If you barely felt love and admiration for these actors, reading about their time in the military should change that. Their motivations for enlisting are as varied as their acting careers. Read on to find out which of your favorite actors made it to the list, along with their roles or military rank and the year they were drafted.

Morgan Freeman – Airman First Class: 1955

Morgan Freeman is among the most recognizable actors in Hollywood. And while he always dreamed of acting, he harbored fanciful notions of war and flying thanks to his favorite war films. But after joining the U.S. Air Force in 1955, Freeman says it took him a year and a half to get disabused of his romantic notions.

Though serving as a radar technician, Freeman got one chance to sit behind a cockpit, and it wasn’t everything he imagined it would be. So he left the Air Force in 1959. You can listen to his authoritative voice in the 2021 TV series “Solos.”