These TV show characters have served their country in the military.
While they are fictional, we appreciate what the characters do to facilitate conversation on behalf of the real military men and women who give of themselves and have fought valiantly over the years to protect our freedoms and those of others around the world.
We thank them for this brave, patriotic service and honor them with the following photo gallery.
Seeley Booth – Bones
On Bones, Seeley Booth served as a long-time sniper in the Army. He achieve the rank of Master Sergeant following service in the Gulf War, Somalia and Kosovo.
Sam Hanna – NCiS: Los Angeles
Sam Hanna was a Navy SEAL prior to joining forces with the NCIS: Los Angeles team.
Marine Lt Col Sarah MacKenzie – JAG
We’re digging back in the TV archives for some female representation. Marine Lt Col Sarah MacKenzie, nickname Mac. In this precursor to NCIS, Mac was selected as commander of Joint Legal Service Center Southwest, a JAG office in San Diego during the final episode of the series. Big stuff! She may or may not have taken the position, but it was a well-deserved offer.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs – NCIS
This NCIS team leader is a veteran of Desert Storm action in Iraq. He was a gunnery sergeant in the Marines. We thank him for his service.
Damon Salvatore – The Vampire Diaries
Damon Salvatore briefly served in the Confederate Army, but deserted before the conclusion of the Civil War. Still… he looks great in uniform, huh?!?
John Winchester – Supernatural
Sam and Dean’s father on Supernatural took on enemy humans before he took on monsters. He spent time as a member of the Marines. The proof was in his journal.
Owen Hunt – Grey’s Anatomy
Owen Hunt arrived on Grey’s Anatomy as an Army trauma surgeon who was the sole survivor of an attack on his unit in Iraq. The experience has left him affected for life.
Don Draper – Mad Men
Well… Dick Whitman, really. But while Don Draper is at war with himself on Mad Men, his identity crisis started soon after serving in the Korean War.
Steve McGarrett – Hawaii Five-0
Steve McGarrett served as a Navy SEAL. He returned to Hawaii to track down the man that killed his father, using his investigative and interrogation training to get that job done.
Joe “Bear” Graves – SIX
Joe “Bear” Graves spends his days and nights slinking in during the dead or night or under the cover during the light of day to save those who need the very best of Navy SEAL Team SIX’s elite mission expertise and is tasked with leading his unit in and out of the most dangerous of situations, keeping them and those they rescue safe.
First Lt. Colleen McMurphy – China Beach
Digging back to another absolutely brilliant series that aired on ABC for some female representation. First Lieutenant Colleen McMurphy was a nurse with the 510th Evac Hospital in Vietnam. The character was always finding ways to help the incoming battle fatigued soldiers as well as the wounded and was later promoted to Captain
Richard “Rip” Taggart – SIX
Rip Taggart was once the leader of the elite military squad Navy SEAL Team SIX and went on to offer his well-honed skills privately afterward.
Jay Halstead – Chicago PD
Halstead is a United States Army veteran and served with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. This storyline was revealed when his friend, Greg “Mouse” Gerwitz, began airing.
Luke Alvez – Criminal Minds
Before joining the FBI, Alvez served in the U.S. Army as a part of the 75th Rangers Regiment and had a number of specialties, including animal training. That could be why he has a very special German Shepard of his own.
Jack Bauer – 24
Before he ever saved the world on 24, Jack Bauer was a member of the Army’s Delta Force. He earned a Silver Star, Purple Heart and Legion of Merit and was a Captain when he left the military.
Buster Bluth – Arrested Development
Buster Bluth enlisted in the Army to prove a point to his mother. A seal then bit off his hand.
Alex Caulder – SIX
Alex Caulder is a member of SEAL Team SIX, the right-hand man of his unit leader and at the top of his game.
Abraham Simpson – The Simpsons
Abraham Simpson was a master sergeant in the Flying Hellfish unit of the Army during World War II. He actually served with Montgomery Burns.
Marcel Gerard – The Originals
We don’t know Marcel Gerard’s exact military experience. But we do know he looks good in uniform!
Abraham Ford – The Walking Dead
Abraham was a U.S. Army Sergeant before the virus took hold, and he survived anything military related. We thank him for his service in the US Army and in the Zombie Apocalypse.
David Rossi – Criminal Minds
David Rossi of Criminal Minds served in the U.S. Marine Corps and advanced to the rank of Sergeant Major. Photo features young Rossi from his days in Vietnam (from a flashback episode).
Martin Riggs – Lethal Weapon
Riggs may seem like a loose cannon on the job at times, but before tragedy struck his personal life, he occupied one of the most coveted positions in the US Military as a Navy SEAL.
Mac “Quarry” Conway – Quarry
The entire series was set after Mac “Quarry” Conway came home from fighting in the Vietnam War and how his service and the entire experience affected his life afterward.
Margaret Houlihan – M*A*S*H
Still digging far back for females in the military, this in no way eliminates the kudos to the others in M*A*S*H. Margaret “Hotlips” Houlihan was the head nurse at the 4077th M*A*S*H unit in the Korean War.
Jay Pritchett – Modern Family
We don’t know exactly what this Modern Family patriarch did in the war. But “this is my Vietnam,” he once said while trying to build a project with son Mitchell, adding: “And I was in Vietnam.”
Leonard Pine – Hap and Leonard
Leonard is the half of Hap and Leonard who served in the Vietnam War, doesn’t hesitate to use a gun and still doesn’t hold it against his best friend, Hap, who spent time in prison as a conscientious objector.
John Watson – Sherlock
On Sherlock, John Watson somewhat recently returned from British military service in Afghanistan. He was wounded there and suffered from a form of PTSD before teaming up with his investigative pal. We never saw him in uniform, but got to see him salute his ex-commander at his wedding.
Tom Chandler and Mike Slattery – The Last Ship
CO CDR Tom Chandler and XO Mike Slattery head up the Naval ship the Nathan James, but there are a lot more characters who keep this vessel afloat.
Eric Carter – 24: Legacy
Eric Carter and his buddy, Grimes, also seen in this photo were a part of the Rangers Squad who killed the notorious Ibrahim Bin-Khalid.
