Frank Sinatra was looked down upon by those who served during the Second World War, for there was a belief that Sinatra actively avoided the draft possibly through bribery or other means. The F.B.I. investigated into this case and found an interesting situation. Frank Sinatra seemingly wanted to participate in the war, but was found to be unfit for all positions. Sinatra supposedly lied on most draft forms, claiming he had "no physical or mental defects or diseases." In actuality, when Sinatra was born, he had to be delivered with the aid of forceps which, unfortunately, scarred portions of his face and perforated his ear drum which caused life-long damage.
Doctors soon learned about Sinatra's ear problem, which caused running ear discharge and head noises, and officially declared Sinatra to be 4-F. At the time, an individual considered to be 4-F meant that the individual was unfit to participate in war efforts due to physical, mental, or moral impairments.
Additionally, Sinatra made extreme efforts to make up for his absence in war efforts. Sinatra made multiple attempts to work as an entertainer for the United Service Organizations (USO). However, he was rejected and given no travel visa due to the presence of an F.B.I. case relating to Frank Sinatra supposedly publicly stating how the United States of America contained a great deal of intolerance. This eventually led Right Wingers to consider Sinatra a Communist.
However, as the Second World War began to come to a close, J. Edgar Hoover, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States, allowed for the issuance of a travel visa for Frank Sinatra to have a United Service Organization (USO) entertainment string of performances.
J. Edgar Hoover
One may view Sinatra's absence in the military service during World War II to be un-American or immoral. However, if one takes note of multiple efforts that Sinatra made to participate, this could show a polar opposite situation.
Sinatra being interviewed during WWII
Song: It's Been a Long, Long Time
Sources:
https://sinatrafamily.com/family/world-war-ii/
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/13/weekinreview/the-nation-from-4f-to-eternity.html
Images:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTYzMzM2ODgzM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwOTc5MzM2._V1_UY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/10/11/04/2D4B018100000578-3268048-image-m-17_1444533079240.jpg
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/j-edgar-hoover-3.jpg
http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kuow/files/styles/x_large/public/201405/Sinatra_Radio.gif
I really like how you chose to investigate further into Sinatra's efforts in supporting the war despite being labelled as un-American for not fighting in WWI. In fact, some people claimed that he had paid the government over $40,000 to avoid the service, but the claim was proven false by the FBI. However, in another article I read, it seems that he was classified 4-F because he was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint" in addition to having a perforated eardrum. He kept this hidden from the public because he didn't want his emotional instability to affect his induction into the army, but also to appear more pleasantly for his large fanbase of "Sinatratics." It's interesting how his career was able to skyrocket due to the war, as he released many songs and films relating to the war which were broadcasted to troops abroad. Despite being unable to join the army, he made up for it through other means such as releasing singles, touring and entertaining troops, and performing concerts.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000069/bio