ARTICLE: Elvis Presley and the Cold War

By the beginning of 1958, Elvis Presley was one of the most famous men on the planet. Having just turned 23, he had the music world, and Hollywood at his fingertips and the potential to make a lot of money not only for himself, but for his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Then, the army came calling…

In 1952, Congress enacted the Universal Military Training and Service Act. By law, all American men aged between 18 and 26 were required to register for the draft. A follow up piece of legislation, The Reserve Forces Act, pinned everyone who was pulled up to commit to an eight year period of active or reserve status. All of this, of course, was to supply the US Army with a flow of manpower to continue with the occupation of parts of Europe and Asia following the Second World War, and for the Korean War. However, when it came to the end of that conflict, facing the prospect of a continued cold war, the draft remained. Scaled back accordingly, the young men who were called up were required to serve two years on active service.

Elvis became eligible for the draft on his 21st birthday, in 1956. Even then, Parker (whose portrayal by Tom Hanks in the recent film didn’t make me think he was any less odious) was looking for ways to protect his client’s income. Not to mention his own. That summer he wrote to the Pentagon, requesting that Elvis be put forward for Special Services.

This was regarded as inferior service plied by pampered famous people. It was referred to as ‘the celebrity wimp-out’. It would have committed Elvis to a paltry six weeks of basic training, and then he would simply be required to perform for troops several times a year. But it was not the morality of this that Parker found distasteful. It was the pay. For these gigs, said pampered celebrities received standard military compensation. Parker might have swallowed that, but it was the fact that the army had the right to film and then distribute these performances anywhere in the world they so chose, without giving Elvis (and therefore his manager) a penny.

So no to Special Services. Which left two options. Get out of it, or do it.

(Unless specified, all images/documents shown are on display at Graceland, where there is currently a special exhibition about Elvis’s military service)