Semper Fi! The U.S. Marine that occasionally got into trouble and even once escaped from the WWII German POW camp Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape): Steven T. McQueen had a rough childhood. Between two abusive stepfathers, an alcoholic mother who abandoned him, and growing up in a reform school, it’s no surprise the famous actor viewed the Marine Corps as a great escape from life’s hardships. At age 16, Steven McQueen moved to New York with his mother, where he met two merchant mariners. They convinced him to join the U.S. Merchant Marine, his first taste of service. At his first stop in the Dominican Republic, he quickly abandoned his post and started working in a brothel.
From there, McQueen drifted about, doing odd jobs such as lumberjacking in Canada or selling pens in Texas. He was eventually arrested for vagrancy in the deep south of the United States and forced to work 30 days on a chain gang.
In 1947, at age 17, McQueen received permission from his mother to join the Marine Corps. He went through basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. Initially, he was promoted to private first class in an armored division, but had trouble with authority and was demoted to private no less than seven times. At one point, he went absent without leave to spend two weeks with his girlfriend and was confined to the brig for 41 days.
Once out of the brig while deployed to the Labrador Sea for amphibious training, his transport ship struck a sandbar, sending several of the tanks and their crews into icy waters. Without hesitating, McQueen dove into the sea and reportedly saved five Marines from drowning. rescued several men during a disastrous training exercise in the Arctic, he was given the honor of guarding President Harry Truman's yacht the USS Williamsburg, where he spent the rest of his career until leaving the Marines in 1950.
Despite his trouble adjusting to military life, he remembered the Marine Corps fondly, saying, "The Marines made a man out of me. I learned how to get along with others, and I had a platform to jump off of."
