Ed McMahon has passed away today and something that many people may not know is that Ed McMahon was a retired Marine Corps Colonel that served his country in both World War II and the Korean War:

Remembering the life of television legend Ed McMahon includes a long list of achievements. Many people would quickly recognize his infamous voice as he announced “Heeeeeere’s Johnny” on the “Tonight Show“. McMahon had been battling cancer for quite some time and it was also reported that he’d been fighting pneumonia. He died in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 86.

Ed McMahon was born in 1923 and grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. He served his country, in the United States Marine Corps, during both World War II and the Korean War. During WWII he was a flight instructor and test pilot, and remained in the Marine Corps Reserves after the war was over. In 1946, McMahon pursued speech and drama in college and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. During the Korean War, he returned to active duty in 1953. Mr. McMahon retired from the Marine Corps in 1966 with the rank of Colonel.  [The Examiner]

McMahon was out of the Marines and working for CBS in 1952 when he was recalled to active duty due to the Korean War.  After several months of training Ed McMahon arrived in Korea in February 1953.  McMahon flew artillery reconnaissance spotting missions in a Cessna OE Bird Dog plane for the last few months of the Korean War. McMahon flew a total of 85 combat missions and incredibly one of the people he flew with was baseball great Ted Williams.

The war would end in July 1953 and Ed McMahon would eventually receive orders to return home in September 1953 where he continued his career with CBS.  In 1962 he got his big break when he became Johnny Carson’s sidekick on the Tonight Show.  After the war McMahon would stay in the Marine Corps Reserve and retire as a Colonel in 1966.  Over the years McMahon would go on to honor Korean War veterans most recently in 2003.  And the rest as they say is history, which was only possible after Ed McMahon faithfully served his country fighting communism as a young man in Korea.