The Unexpected List of Hollywood Elite Who Served in the Military

During World War II, the iconic Bea Arthur, known for her roles as Dorothy in The Golden Girls and Maude Findlay in All in the Family and Maude, proved she was more than just a golden girl on screen. Born Bernice Frankel in Brooklyn, New York, she grew up in a Jewish household.

Motivated by her heritage and the atrocities faced by Jews in Europe, Arthur enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942. Serving as a truck driver and typist in the Women’s Reserve, she rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant before her honorable discharge in 1944. During her service, she met and married fellow Marine Robert Alan Aurthur, adopting his surname with a slight alteration in spelling.