This is a Hollywood superstar whose riveting films have regaled audiences for decades and left an indelible mark on culture.

But this living legend also has life experiences beyond the silver screen that are replete with thrills, chills, and unexpected turns, not unlike his on-screen adventures.

The following is an account of the superstar’s stint during the Korean War.

In June 1950, a North Korean invasion of South Korea resulted in the Korean War.  This invasion was an attempt to reunify the Korean peninsula under communist rule, a goal supported by the Soviet Union and China.  The United States led a military intervention along with various other U.N. nations to support South Korea in a three-year conflict.

To overcome the shortage of combat personnel, the U.S. government enacted a military draft. 

Among those conscripted was a twenty-year-old young man, nicknamed Samson, who lived in Seattle, Washington.  Samson would eventually become a major force in Hollywood.

Samson attempted to enroll at Seattle University in 1951, but instead, he was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War.

Samson was assigned the job of swimming pool lifeguard and eventually became a swimming coach at Fort Ord in Northern California.  

After a year of service, Samson returned home to Seattle, Washington, to spend time with his family and girlfriend. 

When his leave ended in September 1951, Samson began his trip back to report for duty at Fort Ord.

However, at the airport, Samson discovered that the only available military flight to Fort Ord was a World War II–era combat aircraft named the Douglas A-1E Skyraider.  This was a U.S.-made single-seat aircraft that remained in service from 1946 to the early 1980s.  It was used extensively in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. 

Samson couldn’t afford a commercial flight ticket, and a delay in reporting back to duty could have resulted in a reprimand or harsher punitive actions from the military.  Hence, he pleaded with naval lieutenant F.C. Anderson, pilot of the Skyraider, to accommodate him in his flight to Fort Ord.

Despite initial reluctance due to the lack of space and the plane being unsuitable for more than one individual, Samson’s plight and his persistence won Anderson over, and he consented to allow Samson to accompany him during the flight.  Since there was no space in the cockpit, Samson had no choice but to place himself in the aircraft’s cramped radar compartment.

The aircraft had a smooth takeoff, but a while after cruising altitude, the hatch of the radar compartment where Samson was located suddenly opened. 

Samson was staring into the open sky, with thousands of feet of air between him and the Pacific Ocean below.  It was a miracle that he wasn’t sucked out the fuselage, which would have resulted in him plummeting into the ocean.

Flying at a high altitude with a fuselage door ajar presented Samson with another hardship.  The oxygen being pumped into the aircraft was escaping into thin air, leaving Samson gasping for life.

Samson’s myriad valiant attempts to reach out and close the hatch proved futile due to powerful winds blowing in the opposite direction.  Recognizing that he needed an alternative, Samson opted to retreat deep into the compartment, curling into a tight space behind some equipment and conserving his energy for his immediate future.

Samson had no means to communicate with the pilot, Anderson, who was separated from him in the cockpit by a thick barrier.  In time, the lack of oxygen rendered Samson unconscious.

Meanwhile, pilot Anderson suffered his own hardships.

A while after takeoff, Anderson checked his fuel gauge to discover that there wasn’t enough fuel to reach Fort Ord.  Worse, there wasn’t sufficient fuel to turn around and return to Seattle, either.  The reason for his fuel shortage is unknown.

But that wasn’t the end of Anderson and Samson’s problems.  Anderson’s radio had failed, so he couldn’t call for assistance.  His oxygen supply had also failed, leaving both him and Samson in mortal danger

Had he continued flying, Anderson would also have been rendered unconscious due to the lack of oxygen, and then the plane would certainly have crashed and exploded.  Anderson decided that the only means of survival was to land the plane on the ocean and then escape in the life rafts.

Anderson commenced a swift descent.

The drop in altitude caused fresh oxygen to inundate the fuselage, particularly the section where an unconscious Samson was lying down, crouched.  The oxygen jolted Samson back into consciousness.  But before he could heave a sigh of relief, he was confronted by the waters of the Pacific.

The plane landed with incredible force.  The impact resulted in Samson being tossed around the radar compartment.  He could have suffered serious injuries during these moments.  The injuries could have left him unable to move, and he could have perished.  Perhaps the survival skills learned during his military training were applied here, and Samson prevailed.

But as he emerged alive out of one deadly experience, another one presented itself.  The freezing seawater began to flood the fuselage at an alarming rate.

Samson used his skills as a swimmer to resist the intense force of the incoming water and free himself to swim out of the sinking fuselage.  Simultaneously, Anderson managed his way out of the cockpit, bloodied but alive.

The two men managed to retrieve life rafts from the wreckage as the plane sank, but the perils were far from ended.  A thick layer of fog made navigation nearly impossible.  The intense waves meant that the raft could flip over.  Then there were challenges with the biting September cold.  Finally, there was no land in sight.  The location in the ocean was also the breeding ground of the great white shark.

The sun was beginning to set, and the emerging darkness worsened the poor visibility caused by the fog.  But the lack of visibility wasn’t Samson’s immediate concern; it was the intense and unforgiving waves of the Pacific.

Just as Samson began maneuvering his raft, a powerful current of waves flipped it, thrusting him into the freezing water. 

Samson called out to Anderson, but the sound of his voice was drowned by the howling wind and the raging waves.  Anderson had drifted away in his life raft due to the strong current near the rocky Marin coast. 

Now alone, Samson had no choice but to swim blindly and hope he had chosen the right direction.

This was like a leap of faith.

There are often moments in one’s life when instinct serves better than rational thought.  In Samson’s case, he had no choice but to trust his instincts.

Samson swam for an hour.  The skills he had acquired as a swimmer were put to use.  But no training could prepare Samson for the hostile waters of the Pacific.

Samson again faced mortal danger.  He risked being consumed by ravenous sharks that may be lurking beneath him.  He could have succumbed to hypothermia, which has physical and psychological impacts, rendering the individual unable to move.  He could have simply drowned due to exhaustion from swimming for an hour and the intense currents.

Just as his energy was dwindling, Samson spotted a distant light.   He retained his focus and summoned his courage and determination to swim toward it.

In time, he reached the shores of Point Reyes, California.  Barely conscious, Samson crawled toward the light that emanated from an old radio station. 

Samson managed to enter the radio station, despite being cold, wet, and in shock.  He mustered an account about his plane running out of fuel and how the pilot made a dramatic landing on the rough ocean.  The radio operator at the station requested help.

After a brief rest in the station, Samson was taken to the Coast Guard Life Boat Station at Point Reyes, where he met Anderson.  Anderson had landed his life raft on the shore at Kehoe Ranch near Pierce Point.  At the station, the men received medical attention and started on their way back to their units.

Samson’s real name was Clinton Eastwood, Jr.  He was nicknamed “Samson” by hospital nurses due to his weight — 11 pounds, 6 ounces — when he was born on May 31, 1930.

He is known across the world as Clint Eastwood.

“What was going through my mind,” Eastwood said in 2015, “was just a stark fear, a stark terror, because [in the] first place, I didn’t know anything about aviation at that particular time — I was just hopping a ride.  I found out many years later that it was a white shark breeding ground, but I’m glad I didn’t know that at the time, or I’d have just died.”  Typical of men of that generation, he recalled a near-death experience with humor and candor.

This isn’t just a story about physical strength, skills, and resourcefulness, but also about the indefatigable human spirit.  

Even the finest screenwriter in the world would struggle to contrive the many series of deadly hardships that Eastwood faced.  It’s a surprise that this thrilling adventure hasn’t been adapted to the big screen so far. 

Clint Eastwood became one of Hollywood’s biggest superstars. 

In addition to being a great actor, Eastwood is also a brilliant filmmaker, pianist, and music composer. 

Eastwood won numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three César Awards, and an AFI Life Achievement Award.  He also received the Italian Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion award, honoring his lifetime achievements.  Bestowed two of France’s highest civilian honors, he received the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Legion of Honor.

Here’s wishing the great man a happy birthday, great health, and much more than a century.

Information about this account originates from articles here, here, and here.

PS: Here’s my article on some of Eastwood’s most underappreciated pictures.  Here’s my review of one of Eastwood’s finest westerns, High Plains Drifter.  Here is my ode to Eastwood’s Dirty Harry.  Here’s my piece in defense of the man who needs no defending.

Image: LIDayo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.