Happy Birthday To The Duke: On This Day In History Actor John Wayne Was Born

On this day in 1907 the late, great American actor John Wayne was born.

John Wayne in one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache, The Horse Soldiers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I also love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in. And I love The Green Berets, which the Duke also directed and starred in. 

Only the Duke had the courage to make a pro-Vietnam War and pro-military film in 1968 when most of the media and a portion of the public was against the war. The media by and large hated the film, but the most of the public loved it.

I also love True Grit and The Shootist, John Wayne's last film.

Like millions of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.  

You can read about John Wayne's life and work via the below link:

https://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-9525664 

Restoring, Reinforcing And Remembering The Alamo

As a kid I watched Walt Disney's Davy Crockett at the Alamo on TV starring Fess Parker and I watched John Wayne’s film The Alamo at the movies, which inspired me throughout the years to read a good number of history books on the Alamo's heroic last stand.  

While visiting my daughter and her Air Force husband in San Antonio, Texas a while back I was finally able to visit the Alamo. As a student of history, I could sense and envision the guts and glory of the brave men who gave their lives there as I walked through the compound.   

In today’s Washington Times, George P. Bush, the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, offers a piece on the preservation of that great, historical place.

As a native Texan, as a veteran, and as Texas land commissioner, it is my solemn duty and my great honor to be the caretaker of the Alamo. Who we are as Texans started there and who we can be as Texans and Americans still lives there.

You may have heard or read stories about the Alamo recently. Let’s set the record straight about what we are and are not doing.

We are not changing the Alamo’s name or story. We are seeking new ways to tell that story, and tell it to rising generations, to keep Texas values alive.

We are preserving and protecting the Alamo and the story of the battle. It was the 13 days of siege and battle in 1836 that made this mission sacred, and it’s that same battle that gives us our sacred mission today. Simply put, we want to tell the story of the battle of the Alamo, proudly, purposefully and better than we ever have before.

The beautiful Alamo Church is one of only two buildings that remain from the battle in 1836. At that time there were great walls of stone that made a frontier fortress. There were acequias to bring in water. There were lodgings for soldiers, and a headquarters where Col. Travis wrote his famous letter calling for reinforcements. There was a great gate to the south. But just two structures, the church and the long barrack, are all that’s left. All the rest has been lost to history, lost to the growth of San Antonio, or just lost.

Today these priceless buildings are crumbling before our very eyes. The Alamo must be preserved so future generations can learn its story as we have. We will preserve it.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/16/the-alamo-must-be-preserved-for-future-generations/ 

You can also visit the Alamo website via the below link:

http://www.thealamo.org/ 

On This Day In History David Crockett Was Born

As Biography.com notes, on this day in 1786 legendary American frontiersman David Crockett was born.

Davy Crockett was a frontiersman, legendary folk hero and three-time Congressman. He fought in the War of 1812 and died at the Alamo in the Texas Revolution.

You can read the rest of the piece and watch a video clip via the below link:

https://www.biography.com/people/davy-crockett-9261693

Note: Davy Crockett was a childhood hero of mine. As a child, I loved the Walt Disney TV series about him with Fess Parker (seen in the below photo) as Crockett, and I loved the John Wayne film The Alamo with the Duke (seen in the above photo) portraying Crockett. Those portrayals, although somewhat historically inaccurate, led me to read accurate historical accounts of the great man.

I was pleased to recently travel to San Antonio, Texas, where my daughter lives with her Air Force husband. While there we visited the Alamo, where Crockett met his end in heroic fashion. The night before we visited the Alamo, we all watched John Wayne’s The Alamo.

And last week, I watched on cable TV a newer version of The Alamo, with Billy Bob Thornton (seen in the below photo) as Davy Crockett. I liked the film, which was also about Sam Houston and the Texas Revolution, and I liked Billy Bob Thornton’s portrayal of Davy Crockett.   

Visit To San Antonio, Texas: Remember The Alamo

I haven't posted anything in a week as I've been offline while visiting my daughter and her Air Force husband in San Antonio, Texas.

I was happy to see my daughter and I was thrilled to finally see the Alamo (photo above).

I saw John Wayne's film The Alamo when I was a kid, which led me to read several books on the Alamo's heroic last stand.

As a student of history, I could sense and envision the guts and glory of the brave men who gave their lives there as I walked through the compound.

You can visit the Alamo's website and take a virtual tour via the below link:

http://www.thealamo.org/visit/index.html

You can also read about the battle of the Alamo via the below link:

http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-alamo

Note: In the above photos are John Wayne as Davy Crockett, Laurence Harvey as Colonel Travis and Richard Widmark as Jim Bowie in one of my favorite films, The Alamo.

The Duke: Happy Birthday To The Late, Great American Actor John Wayne

Today is the birthday of the late, great American actor John Wayne. He was born on this day in 1907.

John Wayne in one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I also love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in. And I love The Green Berets. 

Only the Duke had the courage to make a pro-Vietnam War and pro-military film in 1968 when most of the media was against the war. The media by and large hated the film, but the public loved it.

I also love The Shootist, John Wayne's last film.

Like millions of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.   

You can read a brief biography of John Wayne via the below link to his website:

http://johnwayne.com/legacy/biography/ 

'John Wayne Day' In Texas Honors Actor's 108th Birthday

FoxNews.com reports that yesterday was declared 'John Wayne Day' in Texas.

Texas Lt. Govenor Dan Patrick declared 'John Wayne Day' in honor of the great western actor's 108th birthday.

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/05/26/john-wayne-day-in-texas-honors-actor-108th-birthday/

Note: You can read an earlier post on John Wayne via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/05/happy-birthday-to-film-legend-john-wayne.html

Happy Birthday To Film Legend John Wayne

Happy Birthday to the one and only Duke. Actor John Wayne was born on this day in 1907.

John Wayne is one of my favorite actors. I love his westerns with director John Ford, such as The Searchers, Fort Apache and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I love John Wayne's war films with John Ford, such as They Were Expendable and The Wings of Eagles.

I also love The Alamo, which John Wayne directed as well as starred in, and I love The Shootist, John Wayne's last film.

Like many of his fans, I can watch John Wayne films over and over. He was a great actor and a great American.    

You can read about John Wayne and watch a video clip on his life via the below link:

http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-9525664

Remembering The Alamo: A Review Of 'The Blood Of Heroes'

Journalist, author and native Texan Joseph C. Goulden offers a good review of James Donovan's The Blood of Heroes: The 13-Day Struggle for the Alamo - and the Sacrifice That Forged a Nation in the Washington Times.

The bravery of the men who died defending the Alamo in 1836 was drummed into my head on an annual basis beginning in the third grade at Van Zandt Elementary School in Marshall, Texas. To me, the Alamo was a continuation of the American Revolution, with the Texians — as they were called in that era, and I will use the term, as does author James Donovan — fighting for freedom as an independent nation.
*
Mr. Donovan’s gripping book is history at its best — exactingly sourced and written with a vividness that challenges you to put it down. Even those familiar with an oft-told story will delight in the richness of his detail. And in my view, he demolishes contentions by revisionists that the defenders were frontier roughnecks trying to seize land that properly belonged to Mexico, which had just cast off Spanish domination.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/10/book-review-the-blood-of-heroes/     

Actors We Miss: The Late, Great John Wayne

Jeffery M. Anderson wrote an interesting piece for Cinematical about the late, great actor John Wayne.

Like Anderson, I admire and miss the old Duke. Unlike Anderson, I share many of Wayne's conservative views.

I love John Wayne in The Searchers, Fort Apache, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, True Grit, The Green Berets, The Alamo, The Cowboys, The Shootist and in many, many more films. I've seen these films and others many times over the years.

I can even even watch his not-so-classic films again and again, because the Duke had great screen presence.

You can read read Anderson's piece via the below link:

http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/10/15/john-wayne-actors-we-miss/

I too miss the Duke, but he left behind some great films for our enjoyment.