Dale Dye | |
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Born |
Dale Adam Dye, Jr. October 8, 1944 Cape Girardeau, Missouri |
Nationality | American |
Education | Missouri Military Academy |
Alma mater | University of Maryland University College (BA) |
Occupation | Actor, technical advisor, radio personality, writer |
Years active | 1986–2016 |
Spouse(s) |
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Children | 4 |
Parent(s) |
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Awards | Order of Saint Maurice |
Website | daledye |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
Years of service | 1964–1984 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | |
Battles/wars | Lebanese Civil War |
Awards |
Dale Adam Dye, Jr. (born October 8, 1944) is an American actor, technical advisor, radio personality, and writer. Dye is also a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer and decorated Vietnam veteran. His company, Warriors, Inc., is a technical adviser to Hollywood. Dye has also contributed his expertise and voice to video games.
Dale Adam Dye, Jr. was born on October 8, 1944, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Dale Adam and Della Grace (née Koehler) Dye. His father was a liquor salesman in and around St. Louis and took Dale with him as he visited working-class taverns. There he heard war stories from World War II veterans. One particular story about man-to-man fighting told by a Marine who said he had fought in the Pacific Theater arrested Dale's attention. He looked up the Battle of Iwo Jima that night and made up his mind to become a Marine. Dye was educated at St. Joseph's Military Academy in Chicago and the Missouri Military Academy.
Dye had hoped to attend Annapolis, but after failing the entrance exam three times – "my math and science skills were weak, and my English skills were huge" – and having exhausted his family's meager funds getting through military academy, he enlisted in the Marines in January 1964. His unit was among the first to deploy to Vietnam in 1965. Officers in the unit noticed his keen observational skills and literary interest and encouraged him to reclassify as a combat correspondent. He became one of a very few Marine combat correspondents. He sent stories to military publications and to the home town newspapers of fellow Marines. As a correspondent, he saw more battle than many low-ranking infantrymen. Dye developed an immense respect for the grunts who took the brunt of any action.