Famous Veterans Celebrating Birthdays Today (July 9th):

Famous Veterans Born July 9, 1951:

Chris Cooper – Actor: The Bourne Identity – (Coast Guard Reserve)

Famous Veterans Born July 9, 1938:

Brian Dennehy – Actor: First Blood – (Marine Corps) – Died: April 16, 2020

Famous Veterans Born July 9, 1932:

Donald Rumsfeld – American politician, government official, and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the second-oldest person to have served as Secretary of Defense. Additionally, Rumsfeld was a three-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois (1963–69), director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1969–70), counsellor to the president (1969–73), the United States Permanent Representative to NATO (1973–74), and White House Chief of Staff (1974–75). Between his terms as Secretary of Defense, he served as the CEO and chairman of several companies.

Rumsfeld served in the United States Navy from 1954 to 1957, as a naval aviator and flight instructor. His initial training was in the North American SNJ Texan basic trainer after which he transitioned to the T-28 advanced trainer. In 1957, he transferred to the Naval Reserve and continued his naval service in flying and administrative assignments as a drilling reservist. On July 1, 1958, he was assigned to Anti-submarine Squadron 662 at Naval Air Station Anacostia, District of Columbia, as a selective reservist. Rumsfeld was designated aircraft commander of Anti-submarine Squadron 731 on October 1, 1960, at Naval Air Station Grosse Ile, Michigan, where he flew the S2F Tracker. He transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve when he became Secretary of Defense in 1975 and retired with the rank of captain in 1989. – Died: June 29, 2021

Born July 9, 1906:

Walter Sande – Actor: Wild Wild West – (Coast Guard Temporary Reserve WWII) – Died: November 22, 1971