America will always have hero's, but it isn't often we have them in the movies and in real life.

Gary Cooper played the role of a strong, silent hero in the movies, but one in real life as well. For ten years, he suffered from cancer and fought it valiantly without complaining and without the public knowing. He died in May, 1961, at the age of 60. Another such hero is John Wayne. After filming Fort Apache and other westerns, General Douglas MacArthur addressed John Wayne saying "Young man, you represent the cavalry office more than any man in uniform". The Duke was born as a 13 pound whopper, in Iowa, as Marion Morrison. As a kid, his best friend was his dog named "Duke". He received a football scholarship to USC, and as a student, started in the movie business as an extra doing stunts. Even in Utah, one of his quotes remains popular...."I never trust a man that doesn't drink". John Wayne was a devoted family man, raising two sets of kids. His third wife, Pilan, requested the word "obey" be dropped from their marriage vows. Wayne consented, saying "None of the others ever obeyed me anyway". President Reagan recalled when Wayne and Jimmy Stewart attended his second inauguration as governor of California, during the height of the Vietnam War. "They encountered a crowd of demonstrators under the banner of the Vietcong flag," Reagan remembered "Jimmy had just lost a son in Vietnam. Duke excused himself for a moment and walked into the crowd. In a quick moment there was no Vietcong flag". On another occasion, during a protest, a man was dishonoring the American flag, when Wayne "duked" the guy. Nearby police officer's refused to cite John Wayne, who stood up for America. During the mid 1960's, while John Wayne was flying to a military base to film "Green Beret", the Duke sat next to a Nephi, Utah Airman named Weston Jones. John Wayne knew Utah and respected our military. In their three hour chat, John Wayne seemed to know more about Nephi and Utah then the local Jones boy. After getting off the plane, John Wayne held the media and the North Carolina Governor at bay, until Airman Jones got off the plane at which point Wayne bid Jones farewell, telling him to return home safety. Out of 171 films, John Wayne died in only eight. To some of us, he will live forever.