Famous Military Veterans a to z

Comedian and director Buster Keaton was popular for his pioneering silent comedies in the 1920s.

John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, negotiated the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and initiated the Alliance for Progress. He was assassinated in 1963.

Robert Kennedy was Attorney General during his brother JFK's administration. He later served as a U.S. Senator and was assassinated during his run for the presidency.

Jack Kerouac was an American writer best known for the novel On the Road, which became an American classic, pioneering the Beat Generation in the 1950s.

Senator John Kerry has supported free trade, expansive foreign and military policy and education spending. In 2004, he was a democratic presidential nominee.

"King of the Blues" B.B. King began as a disc jockey in Memphis before finding fame as an R&B guitarist, with hits like "The Thrill Is Gone."

Henry Knox was a bookstore owner who became a Major General under George Washington during the American Revolution and later Secretary of War.

Ed Koch was an outspoken attorney, author and media commentator who was the mayor of New York City from 1977 to 1989.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Tom Landry played gridiron football for the New York Giants and was the first ever head coach of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Jerome Lawrence was an American playwright. He collaborated with Robert Edwin Lee for over 50 years. Inherit The Wind is their most well known play.

The winner of two Oscars, Jack Lemmon was one of Hollywood’s finest actors, known for his roles in films like Some Like it Hot and The Odd Couple.

James Longstreet was the principle general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving under Robert E. Lee.

Jim Lovell is a former U.S. astronaut who commanded NASA's nearly disastrous Apollo 13 flight to the moon.

Former Army soldier Jessica Lynch was held captive by Iraqi soldiers at Saddam Hospital in Nasiriya then rescued by U.S. troops. A media firestorm followed.

Alfred Thayer Mahan was an American naval officer and historian who was an exponent of sea power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the title and won an unrivaled 49 straight fights.

Actor Lee Marvin’s appeared in about 70 films, including Hell in the Pacific and The Dirty Dozen, between 1951 and 1986.

John McCain is a military hero and Republican U.S. Senator defeated by Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Stanley A. McChrystal led the Joint Special Operations Command in Iraq during the Persian Gulf Wars and was top Commander of American forces in Afghanistan.

American film star Steve McQueen was one of the most popular and well-paid actors of the 1960s and ‘70s. He starred in films like The Great Escape, Bullit and The Getaway.

Spike Milligan was an Irish writer and comedian best known for his work on The Goon Show.

A legendary tough guy on and off-screen, Robert Mitchum was one of the most memorable leading men of the twentieth century.

Thomas H. Moorer was a U.S. Navy admiral and naval aviator who later served as chief of naval operations (1967-70), and then as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1970-4).

Stage, television and screen actor Zero Mostel won a Tony Award playing Tevye in Jerome Robbins' Fiddler on the Roof, and starred in Mel Brooks' film The Producers.

The most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II, Audie Murphy returned home a hero and became an actor, starring in his own story, To Hell and Back.

Attorney Ralph Nader is an auto-safety reformer and consumer advocate. He’s run for president several times, having been both a Democrat and Green Party member.

Chester W. Nimitz was commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II. A brilliant strategist, he commanded all land and sea forces in the central Pacific.

Broadcast journalist Charles Osgood anchored CBS Morning News, the Sunday Night News and Sunday Morning. More recently, he has hosted The Osgood File.

Jack Palance was an American actor best known for playing villainous roles in the 1960s and for his award-winning appearance in the film City Slickers.

Arnold Palmer, nicknamed "The King," is a former champion golfer and is considered one of the sport's all-time greats.

General George Patton led the Third Army in a very successful sweep across France during World War II in 1944. He was skilled at tank warfare.

Charles Willson Peale was an American painter best known as one of the most prolific artists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He painted more than a dozen heroic portraits of George Washington.

American businessman Ross Perot ran for the U.S. presidency as an independent candidate twice, in 1992 and 1996. He is one of the most successful third-party candidates in American history.

Matthew C. Perry was a 19th century U.S. Naval officer who fought in the Mexican War and headed an important naval expedition to Japan.

Charles Pinckney was an American Founding Father, governor of South Carolina and signer of the U.S. Constitution.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was an American Revolutionary War veteran, South Carolina legislator and two-time presidential candidate.

Horace Pippin was a self-taught, African-American painter whose art documented slavery and his experiences in World War I.

Molly Pitcher was a patriot who--during the American Revolution--carried pitchers of water to American soldiers for cooling the cannons.

Colin Powell was the first African American appointed as the U.S. Secretary of State, and the first, and so far the only, to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Musician and actor Elvis Presley endured rapid fame in the mid-1950s—on the radio, TV and the silver screen—and continues to be one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll.

American journalist Ernie Pyle was one of the most famous war correspondents of World War II. He won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting in 1944.

Lou Rawls was a singer and songwriter known for his baritone voice and the small acting roles he took on the side.

Jerry Reed was an American musician and actor best known for his Grammy hit "When You're Hot, You're Hot," and for the film Smokey and the Bandit.

Hiram Revels is best known as the first African American to serve in the United States Senate.

Silversmith Paul Revere took part in the Boston Tea Party and famously alerted the Lexington Minutemen about the approach of the British in 1775.

Musician Charlie Rich had several No. 1 country songs in the 1970s, including "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl."

Jason Robards Jr. was an intense stage and film actor, and a frequent interpreter of Eugene O'Neill's work. He starred in the 1960 television production The Iceman Cometh, and later starred in films like Philadelphia and Magnolia.

Pat Robertson is a television evangelist best known for founding the Christian Coalition, an influential conservative political organization.

Sugar Ray Robinson was an American professional boxer who is frequently cited as the greatest boxer in history.

Actor and dancer Cesar Romero performed in movies from the '30s through the '60s. He became a pop culture icon in the 1966 Batman television series.

Donald Rumsfeld is a political figure known for being the secretary of defense under both President Gerald Ford and President George W. Bush.

Army medic Clarence Eugene was awarded the Medal of Honor for treating wounded Vietnam soldiers amidst gunfire despite having been shot in both legs himself.

Telly Savalas was an American actor best known for his role as a tough, New York City detective in the 1970’s television series Kojak.

Charles Schulz was a cartoonist best known for creating the one of the world's most successful comic strips, Peanuts.

Emmy Award–winning television and film writer Rod Serling created and hosted the sci-fi fantasy series The Twilight Zone and co-wrote Planet of the Apes.

Serial killer Arthur Shawcross murdered 11 women from 1988 to 1990 in upstate New York, earning the nickname "The Genessee River Killer."

William Tecumseh Sherman was a U.S. Civil War Union Army leader known for "Sherman's March," in which he and his troops laid waste to the South.

Roger Staubach is a former NFL quarterback who led the Dallas Cowboys to win two Super Bowls. He’s also a businessman and sports commentator.

Rod Steiger was an Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in On the Waterfront and In the Heat of the Night.

Jimmy Stewart was a major motion-picture star known for his portrayals of diffident but morally resolute characters in films such as It’s a Wonderful Life.

Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Oliver Stone is responsible for the hit films Platoon, Scarface, Born on the Fourth of July and Natural Born Killers.

Jeb Stuart was a General and cavalry leader for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He worked closely with General Robert E. Lee.

Preston Sturges is regarded as the first Hollywood figure to successfully move from screenwriting to directing his own scripts.

Percy Sutton was a Freedom Rider, civil rights activist and prominent African-American lawyer best known for representing Malcolm X.

A counterculture icon, Hunter S. Thompson was an American journalist best known for writing 1971's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and creating "Gonzo journalism."

Sworn in as the 33rd president after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's sudden death, Harry S. Truman presided over the end of WWII and dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.

Football player Emlen Tunnell was the first African American to play for the New York Giants, and the first African American to be inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.

J. Craig Venter is a scientist and businessperson whose gene-sequencing process led to a decoding of the human genome.

DeWitt Wallace was an American publisher and, with his wife, founder of Reader's Digest magazine. The couple supported numerous philanthropic causes.

George Washington was a leader of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, and was the first to become U.S. president.

Anthony Wayne was an American general and U.S. Representative best known for winning the Battle of Fallen Timbers which removed Native American claims to Ohio and the surrounding area.