U.S. Naval Institute Lends Artifacts for Hollywood-Themed Exhibit

May 30, 2008 – The U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) is on prominent display at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans until August 31. USNI and Mrs. Vera Fairbanks, wife of the late Douglas Fairbanks Jr., were honored guests of the museum to unveil its "Reel to Real" Hollywood and World War II exhibit of Hollywood actors who served in the military.

Fairbanks, a legend of American cinema, was a Naval Reserve officer in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters of World War II. He joined the Reserve in 1941 at 30 years of age "to take on Adolf Hitler," he said in an interview with USNI's Naval History magazine in 1993. Fairbanks also served as a presidential envoy to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, and Panama and worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence before operating with Royal Marine Commandos in raids across the English Channel and serving as chief staff officer for Special Operations Task Group 80.4 (the "Beach Jumpers") in the Mediterranean. Among his film roles were the original Sinbad the Sailor and Sergeant Ballantyne in Gunga Din.

In support of the new exhibit, former Marine Staff Sergeant Norman Hatch was a speaker at the 3-day event that kicked off the exhibit opening last month, speaking about the role of military and film. Hatch is featured in USNI's "Americans at War" television series, where he talks about his experiences as a combat photographer with the Marines at Tarawa, the first time actual combat had ever been filmed (www.americans-at-war.com). His dramatic footage won the Academy Award in 1943 for Most Outstanding Documentary, Short Subject.

Also present at this event was Naval Institute author, retired Navy Captain Jim Wise, author of several Naval Institute Press books, including his popular series on celebrities who served in uniform, Stars in Blue, Stars in the Corps, Stars in Khaki (out-of-print), and International Stars at War.

"Mrs. Fairbanks found a letter when she was going through her husband's things concerning the interview in Naval History and decided to call us. Originally, the donation was to be his collection of books, but when we visited her in New York we saw the medals and his uniform," said Naval Institute's Media Marketing Director Mary Ripley. "We feel incredibly grateful to add Mr. Fairbanks' things amongst our already outstanding collection of military photos, oral history, paintings and posters – the largest private collection of its kind in the world."