Ah, but the "cowardice" here does not refer to his failure to serve, but the way he responded to this episode for the rest of his life. A man who would not fight for his country when it was threatened was, for the next 30 years, a loud and aggressive expert in what constituted patriotism and anti-Americanism.

"I don't want to be in a fake war in a studio."

Said Henry Fonda, who had two children, and was two years older than Wayne. And who managed to serve in the US Navy despite a lifetime of painful hangnails, unlike Big John.

John Wayne gets a pass for his cowardice because of his conservative politics and all of you know it.