'Pure drivel' John Wayne's furious rejection of Steven Spielberg hid his 'secret shame'

After the US entered the Second World War, many stars visited the troops to perform and boost morale.

When Wayne visited military camps in Australia and across the Pacific in 1942, he was horrified by their response.

One veteran recalled: “After my evacuation from Okinawa, I had the enormous pleasure of seeing Wayne humiliated in person at Aiea Heights Naval Hospital in Hawaii … Each evening, Navy corpsmen would carry litters down the hospital theatre so the men could watch a movie. One night they had a surprise for us.

Before the film, the curtains parted, and out stepped John Wayne, wearing a cowboy outfit – 10-gallon hat, bandana, checkered shirt, two pistols, chaps, boots and spurs.”