Famous Veterans Celebrating Birthdays Today (June 11th):

Famous Veterans Born June 11, 1933:

Gene Wilder – Comedian, Actor: Willy Wonka – (Army paramedic) – Died: August 29, 2016

Wilder was drafted into the Army on September 10, 1956. At the end of recruit training, he was assigned to the medical corps and sent to Fort Sam Houston for training. He was then given the opportunity to choose any post that was open, and wanting to stay near New York City to attend acting classes at the HB Studio, he chose to serve as paramedic in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at Valley Forge Army Hospital, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.