godfather 1, " he's a war hero"

In G1, when Mike is outside the hospital being rousted by McCluskey an McCluskey tells his guys to take him in, one of his guys says ' He's clean catain, he's a war hero." What was it that Mike did that made him a hero? Before I get jumped on about questioning his status, I have the utmost respect for our men an woman that have, are, and will serve our contry, I'm only asking about that particular line

No specifics in the movie, although isn't Michael wearing numerous medals on his uniform when arriving at Connie's wedding? It's possible the book may go more into detail about Michael's military record. It's been 4yrs since I read it so I can't be sure.

There is also Clemenza's line, while teaching Michael how to handle the gun on Solozzo & McClusky...that references Michael's war heroics as well.

Apple

It is explained a little better in the books. He was wounded I think and won a Purple Heart. My memory of the book is very faulty, but didn't he win some other medal.

The novel says nothing about his heroics in the Pacific except that he was a Captain, that his wound disabled him, and that he received medals.

Wasn't Michael also featured in Time Magazine or Life Magazine or something like that? I can't remember whether the source for that is the movie or film, but anyways I'm leaning towards believing that Michael had to have done something rather signficant during his service and thus be noticed in the public eye. I think this because there would've have had to have been a reason for the detective who delivers the "he's a war hero" to know this. That detective is named Phillips I believe in the novel and is on the family payroll. I can't see how he would know this fact about Michael who wasn't involved in the "family business" up until this time without it having been reported in the news media. Otherwise, it may have cast suspicion on him with the pro-Barzini/Solozzo/Tattaglia McCluskey.

In the book, Michael was wounded during an amphibious landing. Vito arranged for his discharge, so it's at least possible that he also arranged Michael's being a hero. Maybe there's something more in the book.

I think Michael's rebellion by joining the Marines would be good gossip material, so it wouldn't be unusual for cops to know about him.

It suprises me that no one has already mentioned that in The Godfather Part II Michael says at the senate hearings that he was awarded the "Navy Cross" during World War II.

Ofcourse detective Philips knew about this as Michael was featured in Time Magazine, which is stated in the novel.

...like Joe Kennedy and his second son...

Okay. It was Life Magazine in 1944 about his "deeds". The novel states nothing about what comprised those deeds. Vito disdained Michael's deeds because "He performs those miracles for strangers", hardly a motivation for Vito to have his son portrayed as a hero. As someone posted above, any number of people certainly in NY would have known about Michael's heroics since Life Magazine was the People Magazine of the era.

I've always found it a bit of a mystery why Vito would have to arrange Michael's release from the service if Michael had received a disabling wound.

actually i think he was discharged because of his severe back injury when his pt boat was rammed.

Joe Kennedy was totally involved with JFK's naval career from the beginning:
JFK applied for a commission after Pearl Harbor--college grads routinely got quickie commissions in those days. He was rejected for poor health (a lot worse than he ever let on in his lifetime), but the old man pulled strings and got him his commission, as well as a plum intelligence assigment in Washington DC. But JFK was cavorting with Inga Arvad, a Scandinavian journalist who was being watched by the FBI as a possible Nazi spy. They reported JFK's liaisons to Naval Intelligence. A mere mortal would have been court-martialed, but JFK was banished to an obscure post in South Carolina.

Then fate intervened. The Navy decided to deploy PT boats in the Pacific. They were like medium-sized yachts--fast, maneuverable, and capable of getting close to Japanese warships, launching torpedoes, and getting away quickly. The Navy needed PT captains who had yachting experience, and they weren't too concerned about the captains' health since their anticipated life expectancy in that dangerous assignment wasn't very long. JFK qualified on both counts. PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. According to some of his biographers, the ramming was caused by JFK's negligence. There is no doubt that he behaved heroically in swimming several of his injured crewmen to a desert island, where they were rescued by US forces. But there is doubt that his back injury was was solely caused by that incident--some believe that the ramming aggravated a childhood back injury and may have been aggravated his lifelong problem with adrenal insufficiency. And, his discharge from the Navy wasn't a slam-dunk because of his "injury"--Old Man Kennedy arranged for him to be promoted, assigned as a PT instructor in Florida, then discharged before the war's end. He also arranged all the publicity that made JFK a war hero.

i do remember that his father pulled a few strings to have his son in the navy, and of course to let him off with a minor slap on the wrist. and, back problems are always difficult to say if one thing made it worse or not.

i know one thing for sure though, joe kennedy already lost his first son in the war and at the time his dream of having a son in the white house. after john's 'heroics' joe's dream of having a son as president was bright as ever.