Dave Lower

Steve McQueen was demoted seven times in the Marine Corps and spent 41 days in the brig. Then he dove into freezing water and saved five Marines. His name was Terrence Stephen McQueen. He was born on March 24, 1930. He was born in Beech Grove, Indiana. His father was a stunt pilot. His father left when Steve was six months old. A great-uncle named Claude helped raise him. He got in trouble as a teenager. He stole hubcaps. He was sent to the California Junior Boys Republic. It was a reform school in Chino. He was not popular there at first. Over time, he became a role model. The boys elected him to their council. He left at 16. Then he drifted. He joined the Merchant Marine. He worked odd jobs in Texas. He worked as a carnival hand. He worked on an oil rig. In 1947, he enlisted in the Marines. He was 17. His mother had to give permission. He worked on tanks as a driver and mechanic. He kept getting demoted. He joked he would never make corporal. He stretched a weekend pass into two weeks. When shore patrol caught him, he resisted. He spent 41 days in the brig. The first 21 days were on bread and water. After that, he changed. He tried to be a better Marine. His unit went on an Arctic exercise. A landing went wrong in freezing water. Tank crews were thrown into icy water. McQueen dove in. He reportedly saved five Marines. The Corps put him on the honor guard for President Truman’s yacht. He served until 1950. He was honorably discharged. He later said, “The Marines made a man out of me.” He used the G.I. Bill to study acting. He studied acting in New York. He began racing motorcycles. He starred in a TV Western. In 1960, he starred in The Magnificent Seven. In 1963, he starred in The Great Escape. He played a prisoner who escapes on a motorcycle. His friend Bud Ekins did the famous jump. In 1966, he earned an Oscar nomination for The Sand Pebbles. In 1968, he starred in Bullitt. It had one of the great car chases of all time. He starred in The Getaway and Papillon. He loved racing. He and James Garner became friends over racing. He received two Golden Globes. In 1974, he became the highest-paid movie star in the world. Then he stepped away from acting for four years. He spent that time racing cars and motorcycles. He owned more than 60 classic vehicles. He was married to Neile Adams from 1956 to 1972. He had two children with her. He was married to Ali MacGraw from 1973 to 1978. In 1979, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. It is a cancer often linked to asb*stos exposure. He sought experimental treatment in Mexico. On November 6, 1980, he had surgery. He died the next day. He was 50. He had donated to the Boys Republic. He returned to talk to the boys there. He kept that tie for life. A boy sent to reform school. A Marine who saved five men.