John Coltrane – Navy

Late jazz saxophonist John Coltrane didn’t want to wait to be drafted into the Army, so instead, he joined the Navy the very same day the U.S. Army dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. He completed his training at the Naval Training Station in NY and was soon sent to Pearl Harbor. During his days with the Navy, Coltrane worked as a musician in a base swing band primarily, but he had other duties as well that mainly included security and kitchen. After he was released from the service, Coltrane continued to perform until 1967 when his life and career were cut short at the young age of 40 due to a liver cancer. We can only hope for the sake of his family that he had a huge life insurance policy or at least a few millions in his checking account.