Elvis Presley's Army career
| Elvis A. Presley | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Elvis Aaron Presley |
| Born |
January 8, 1935 Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | August 16, 1977 (aged 42) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1958–1960 |
| Rank |
 Sergeant
|
| Unit |
 Company A, 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Division
|
| Awards | Army Good Conduct Medal |
American singer Elvis Presley served in the United States Army between March 1958 and March 1960. At the time of his draft he was one of the most well-known names in the world of entertainment.
Before entering the U.S. Army, Presley had caused national outrage with his sexually charged performances and rock and roll music. Many parents, religious leaders, and teachers groups saw his draft, removing him from public view, as a positive thing. Despite being offered the chance to enlist in Special Services to entertain the troops and live in priority housing, Presley decided to serve as a regular soldier. This earned him the respect of many of his fellow soldiers and people back home who had previously viewed him in a negative light.
During his service, Presley's life was affected in many ways, beginning with the death of his mother. Not long before he was to be stationed in Germany, Gladys Presley died of a heart attack brought on by Acute Hepatitis and Cirrhosis at age 46. When he was stationed in West Germany, he met his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu and became dependent on stimulants and barbiturates. This unhealthy addiction eventually led to his divorce, and ultimately his death at age 42 in 1977.
After his release from military service, Presley found a new fan base among an older age group, thanks in part to his army career and releases of ballads over rock and roll songs.
In January 1956, Presley turned twenty-one years old. Like most American men of that age, he was now eligible to be drafted. Colonel Tom Parker, Presley's manager, was well aware of his client's draft status and how it could affect his career. In the summer of 1956, Parker wrote to the Pentagon requesting that Presley be considered for Special Services. Special Services would allow Presley to do only six weeks basic training and then resume life as normal with the exception of performing several times a year for the armed forces. However, Parker had no intentions of allowing his client to ever sign up for Special Services. Special Services would require Presley to perform for free, with each performance being recorded and filmed for sale to television stations throughout the world. Only the armed forces would profit from these recordings, and Parker was in no way willing to allow anyone, even "Uncle Sam", to enjoy Presley's talents for free. Over the course of the next twelve months Parker led Presley to believe that it was still possible to avoid the draft completely. Unknown to Presley, Parker had no intentions of avoiding the draft. In his eyes, after a year of some negative publicity about Presley, this was the perfect opportunity to change the view that older America had of him.
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