Wow, talk about "The Rest of the Story"!
That's awesome! I never knew that about her.








Subject: Martha Raye


Some of you won’t know who she was----but this is pretty impressive. I thought she was just a comedian.

Some of you remember Martha Raye very well. A comedian and singer, she had a large mouth and appeared with Bob Hope, and on other radio programs and usually played supportive roles in comedy films and musicals. She was also loved for the work she did entertaining troops in WWII and Korea.



Some things you probably did not know about
Martha Raye


Most of the old time entertainers were made out of a lot sterner stuff than today's crop of activists and whiners in Hollywood.



It was just before Thanksgiving ’67 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku, Vietnam.
We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back.
All of a sudden, we heard a 'take-charge' woman's voice in the rear.

There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a SF (Special Forces)
Beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard. 'Maggie' had been visiting her SF 'heroes' out 'west'.

We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku.
As we all started unloading, our Captain said to Martha.
... Ms Ray, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!

To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said.....Captain, see this eagle?
I am a full 'Bird' Colonel in the US Army Reserve, and on this is a ’Caduse’ which means
I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty....now, take me to your wounded.
He said, yes ma'am.... Follow me.

Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would ’cover’ a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break.

Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft. Bragg.

WOW what a very special woman :D:D:D

I didn;t know that either.I always liked her work now I admire her even more

What an incredible story! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for sharing this...
I just printed it to show my sons...they think that some of the old entertainers were pretty lame....
I then told them about Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and others...and asked whether any of the rappers had served?

Thank you,Ditter
Lee Marvin, Captian Kangaroo ,Mr .Rogers,just to name a very few battle scared vets.Heros for sure, old school, never said a word about their service. They fought in some very famous battles.

Thanks, Ditter. This will make a wonderful article for my newsletter. I remember watching her when I was a kid and thought she was hilarious. This adds a whole new dimension to her personality.

I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing.

Lee Marvin (actor) was indeed a US Marine, was in the Battle on Iwo Jima. He was wounded earned a Purple Heart an the Navy Cross, Now Bob Keedshan, (Captian Kangroo) was also a US Marine he was also in the same Battle. Now Mr. Rogers, was never in the Military, he was to old for Viet Nam. But he was a bad man...look on www.sopes.com. I would not lie about that.

Snopes says he was not a bad man.