Bill Wamke Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on November 10, 2017 Bill Wamke, who was drafted by the US Army in 1952 and was appointed stenographer to the Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division, recalls meeting Marilyn during her 1954 tour of Korea in an interview with the Kokomo Herald. “‘She got to because our division was not...

George Purifoy Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on November 29, 2015 86 year-old George Purifoy of Franklin Park, Illinois, has shared his memory of meeting Marilyn during her 1954 USO tour of Korea with TribLive News. “It’s 10 a.m., and the breakfast club of old friends meets at a Panera Bread restaurant in the North Hills. They come daily,...

Remembering Marilyn and Choi Eun-Hee in Korea

First posted here on April 29, 2011 This photograph showing Marilyn with another screen beauty, Choi Eun-hee, at Seoul Airport in February 1954, is featured at the Korean Film Museum (KOFA.) The South Korean actress was joined by another star, Paek Song, to greet Marilyn as she flew in from Japan on a 4-day tour...

James Callahan Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on December 17, 2010 On February 18, 1954, Walt Durrell photographed Military Sergeant James C. Callahan of San Antonio, Texas with Marilyn after she had been made honorary member of 25th Division during her trip to Korea. In 2004, Callahan - now living in Arkansas - shared his memories with the Baxter...

Jerry Karthauser Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on June 16, 2017 A veteran army cook has spotted himself in a photo with Marilyn in Korea during her 1954 tour, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “If an Army cook meets Marilyn Monroe and doesn’t have a photo to prove it, did it really happen? For 63 years now, Jerry Karthauser has...

George Burgtorf Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on March 1, 2016 George Burgtorf of Saramac, Michigan, has shared his memories – and photos – of meeting Marilyn as a young sergeant stationed in Korea during her morale-boosting 1954 visit, in an interview with the Ionia Sentinel-Standard. “George Burgtorf of Saranac was a 20-year-old sergeant in the United States Army’s...

Joseph B. Dalton Remembers Marilyn in Korea

First posted here on September 7, 2015 Writing for Florida Today, US Army veteran Joseph B. Dalton remembers Marilyn’s flying visit to South Korea in February 1954. “I was supposed to have the day off but our sergeant came in and told a couple of us to get dressed, because a VIP was coming in...

Remembering Marilyn With Gabe Pressman

First posted here on June 23, 2017 Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Pressman, a reporter for New York’s WNBC-TV for over 50 years, has died aged 93. Born and raised in the Bronx, he covered events ranging from the assassination of Malcolm X to 9/11. Among his many interviewees were Harry S. Truman, Elvis Presley, Fidel Castro and,...

The Day Marilyn Kept Rockefeller Waiting

First posted here on August 6, 2015 Newsday has dug into its archive for an account of Marilyn’s belated arrival in New York on July 2nd, 1957, from her summer home in Amagansett, to launch the construction of a new Time-Life building. Arthur Miller wrote about the event in his autobiography, Timebends, recalling his astonishment...

Karlie Kloss’ Diamond Tribute to Marilyn

First posted here on March 15, 2017 Supermodel Karlie Kloss has recreated Marilyn’s ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) in a new commercial for Swarovski Crystal, reports Marie-Claire. (In another clip, Karlie imitates Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.) "What I love most about icons like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe...