The Duke at War Trivia Quiz

Answer: In Harm's Way

Wayne plays the fictional Rockwell "Rock" Torrey, Captain of an American heavy cruiser that tries to catch the Japanese fleet that bombed Pearl Harbor. Wounded, promoted, and reassigned, Torrey goes on to fight the Japanese again in a fictional island-hopping campaign that sees him fall in love with a Navy nurse (Patricia Neal) and reunite with his estranged son (Brandon DeWilde) before the son is killed in battle.

Answer: The Horse Soldiers

An historical fiction film based on the 1863 cavalry raid into Mississippi by Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson, "The Horse Soldiers" stars John Wayne as Colonel Marlowe, a tough-as-nails commander who is at odds with Doctor Kendall (William Holden), assigned to Marlowe's unit without his consent. Marlowe and his men destroy supplies and railroads, disrupting Confederate communications and tying down troops needed elsewhere.

Answer: Flying Tigers

Playing fictional Captain Jim Gordon of the actual American Volunteer Group of pilots who flew for China, Wayne has to deal with hot-shot pilot "Woody" Jason, who takes unnecessary risks, disobeys orders, and even makes a play for Gordon's nurse girlfriend. On a later suicide mission, Woody goes down with his plane after Gordon bails out.

Answer: The Alamo

Wayne had wanted to make a film about the Alamo since the 1940s. He had trouble finding financial backing for the film, as he was intending to play a small role in the film and concentrate on directing. He ended up forming his own production company, Batjac Productions, to make the movie, but to get backing from a major studio Wayne had to play the lead role of Davy Crockett. Wayne also invested a lot of his own money in the film, which took years to show a profit.

Answer: John Ford

The "Cavalry Trilogy" were three of Wayne's biggest hit films at that point in his career. While similar in plot and location, the three films were unrelated. All three films dealt with U.S. Cavalry officers assigned to forts in the Southwest and the efforts of the soldiers to protect the settlers from the Native American tribes. All three movies were directed by John Ford.

Answer: Union General William T. Sherman

In what was basically a cameo role for Wayne, he played Union General William Tecumseh Sherman in the John Ford-directed segment set during the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.

Answer: The Green Berets

While the film was not popular with the critics, "The Green Berets" did well at the box office. Wayne plays a U.S. Special Forces colonel who tries to convince a cynical reporter (David Janssen) that the United States is right in helping the South Vietnamese to resist Communism by allowing him to see the fighting up close.

Answer: The Longest Day

"The Longest Day" is an epic war film told from the points of view of American, British, French, and German soldiers. The film was based on the 1959 novel by Cornelius Ryan and had a crew of advisors, as well as some of the actors, who had actually participated in the real battle. Wayne played U.S. Colonel Benjamin Vandervoort, commander of a paratrooper battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division, whose troops were dropped behind the beaches to disrupt German communications and secure the way out of the landing zones for the invading forces.

Answer: Sands of Iwo Jima

In one of his most iconic roles, Wayne plays Marine Sergeant John Stryker, a tough as nails character who is disliked by his soldiers for his training methods and brutal treatment of the men. Once the soldiers enter combat, they begin to see why Stryker acted as he did, and they come to admire him for his courage and they also find that Stryker does have a human side. Stryker is killed by a Japanese sniper on Iwo Jima.

Answer: The Sea Chase

In "The Sea Chase", Wayne plays Karl Erlich, a former German Navy officer who was dismissed from the Navy for refusing to support the Nazis. On the outbreak of World War II, Erlich, now captain of a freighter, must escape from Sydney, Australia and try to make it home to Germany.

His mission is complicated when the German consul asks Erlich to take aboard a spy, a girl called Elsa who seduced one of the British officers chasing Erlich's ship.