‘Marine’ O’Hara praised by US army elite for recruitment-boosting role
A retired marine captain presented the feisty actress with two letters, one from the former head of the Marine Corps, and one from its current head, as she introduced a screening of her 1942 movie, To the Shores of Tripoli, as part of the Maureen O’Hara Classic Film Festival in Glengarriff, Co Cork.
In the movie, O’Hara plays a navy nurse in what turned out to be one of the last of the pre-Pearl Harbor service films.
It was shot at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, used serving marines as extras, and contains authentic scenes of marines in combat training and ground drills.
It was one of the first movies to be fully endorsed by the Marine Corps because of its accurate portrayal of the soldiers.
It was written with a romantic ending but, during post-production, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the ending was changed to show one of the main characters signing up.
The Marine Corps credits the movie as being its single biggest recruitment aide of 1942, due in the most part to O’Hara’s title as the “queen of technicolour”, which drew vast audiences.
After filming, O’Hara stayed in the area to promote the film, and was invited by commanding officers of the Navy and Marine Corps bases to be their guests at several military functions.
Last night, retired Marine Corps Captain Gregory Morton, who graduated from the San Diego base where the movie was shot, presented the two letters to Ms O’Hara.
One is signed by former commandant of the Marine Corps, General James T Conway, who retired last year, and his wife Annette.
The second, signed by the current commandant, General James F Amos, and his wife Bonnie, is dated August 17, 2011 — O’Hara’s 91st birthday.
O’Hara was presented with a 24-carat gold Marine Corps pendant and a picture of the Marine Corps emblem.
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