These 17 television characters are all former military members. It doesn’t get any more patriotic or awe-inspiring than that, does it?
For all they have pretended to do on the small screen and for all the values they have pretended to hold, we salute the following vampires, FBI agents, doctors and more.
Won’t you join us in thanking them for their service?
Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)
LJ Gibbs (NCIS)
This NCIS leader is a veteran of Desert Storm. He served as a gunnery sergeant in the Marines.
Bill Compton (True Blood)
In the Civil War, Bill Compton served a soldier for the Louisiana division of the Confederate Army. On the way home, he met Lorena and was turned into a member of the undead.
Marcellus Gerard (The Originals)
We don’t know his exact combat experience. But Marcel was seen in uniform via a 1919 flashback.
Jimbo Kern (South Park)
Jimbo Kern flew helicopters in Vietnam. He actually made it all the way to sergeant.
John Watson (Sherlock)
John Watson returned from Afghanistan with a form of PTSD. He was wounded while serving with the British military.
Sam Hanna (NCIS: Los Angeles)
Sam Hanna served as a Navy SEAL before bringing those skills to Los Angeles. He is played by LL Cool J.
Jay Pritchett (Modern Family)
This is my Vietnam, Jay Pritchett once complained while trying to construct a project with his son. He then added: And I was in Vietnam!
Don Draper… Errr, Dick Whitman (Mad Men)
It all started for Don Draper when he served in the army as Dick Whitman. He’s been at war with his identity ever since.
Roger Sterling (Mad Men)
Roger Sterling fought in World War II. His bitter feelings over that experience often come flying out in the office.
Steve McGarrett (Hawaii Five-0)
Steve McGarrett is a former Navy SEAL. He returned to Hawaii to track down his dad’s killer.
Owen Hunt (Grey’s Anatomy)
Owen Hunt was a surgeon in Iraq and the sole survivor of an attack on his unit. The experience has left him scarred.
Seeley Booth (Bones)
Seeley Booth is a decorated former Army sniper. He served in the Gulf War, Somalia and Kosovo.
Jack Bauer (24)
Jack Bauer has saved the world many times. Before that, he earned a Silver Star, Purple Heart and Legion of Merit as a member of the Army’s Delta Force.
Buster Bluth (Arrested Development)
Buster Bluth hoped to prove his mettle by joining the army. He subsequently had his hand bitten off by a seal.
Abraham Simpson (The Simpsons)
Abraham Simpson served a master sergeant in the Flying Hellfish. This unit of the Army engaged in a few shenanigans during World War II.
Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons)
Montgomery Burns clashes with his fellw World War II serviceman. Both he and Abraham Simpson were part of the Flying Hellfish.