Happy Veterans Day: 12 Stars Who Served

November 11th marks Veteran’s Day in the United States and many beloved celebrities from Ice-T to Nate Dogg and International artist, Shaggy served in the military in some capacity.

Take a look at a list that we’ve compiled of celebrities you may not have known enlisted in the U.S. military before being celebrated for their art.

No Malice

No Malice enlisted in the army in 1992 to support his pregnant fiance and build a better life for them. “I was looking for stability,” he told MTV News. “I needed it, something that was honest money and something you could count on, benefits and things of that nature. It also [allowed] me to go to school and learn a trade.”  The elder half of the rap group, Clipse, was honorably discharged within two years after completing his tour.

Bill Cosby

The disgraced comedian joined the U.S. Navy in 1956 and trained as a hospital corpsman and served aboard ships and at the Marine base at Quantico, Va., before being sent to Bethesda Naval Hospital. The comedian spent four years in the military before he was honorably discharged in 1960.

“The years I spent in the Navy and so many moments remembering that the Navy gave me a wake-up call. The Navy showed me obedience, and that’s the thing that pushed me to realize the mistakes I had made in my young life at 19 years old and that I could do something with myself and become somebody,” Cosby said.

MC Hammer

Before he let the world that they “can’t touch this,” MC Hammer enlisted in the US Navy in the early 1980s. Hammer worked his way to Petty Officer and Third Class. He served three years at Moffett Airfield in Mountain View, Calif., before being honorably discharged

Jimi Hendrix

Before being known for his riffs, Jimi Hendrix became a paratrooper in 1961, before leaving a year later to pursue music.

Mystikal

Mystikal joined the army after graduating High School in 1988 with hopes to buy himself a new car. But it was rumored that he was honorably discharged before completing his tour. Above is a picture of him in Saudi Arabia Desert Storm during the Gulf War.

Shaggy

Orville Burrell, a.k.a. Shaggy, joined the Marine Corps and served as a field artillery cannon crewman in Operation Desert Storm. He credits wartime with the inspiration behind his 1995 hit single “Boombastic.”

Nate Dogg

Nate Dogg is known for harmonizing some of the greatest songs in Hip Hop history, but did you know that he was once a member of the Marines. He enlisted shortly after graduating High School in 1987. He was stationed in Japan and got honorably discharged after serving for four years.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman passed up a drama scholarship from Jackson State University and joined the US Air Force in 1955 because he always wanted to fly. But he left the Air Force in 1959 after losing the “romantic notion” for serving.

Hugh Hefner

Before Playboy, Hefner had a career in the military. After graduating High School in 1944, he enlisted in the Army as an infantry clerk. He contributed cartoons for different military newspapers before getting discharged two years later.

Ice-T

Ice-T hit a dead end after High School. Once his daughter was born, drug dealing wasn’t cutting it anymore. “And when I had my daughter I was like, man, I’m going to go to jail, I got to do something, and I went to an enlistment office,” he told NPR. He spent four years in the 25th Infantry Division at the Tropic Lightning Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.

Mr. T

Mr T was expelled from college and went on to become a military policeman in the Army. The A-Team actor was “Top Trainee of the Cycle” and later promoted to squad leader after a drill sergeant awarded him a letter of recommendation.

Montell Williams

Montell Williams served as a cryptologic officer for naval intelligence in Guam, and in 1983 was transferred to the National Security Agency in Maryland. It was there the then-lieutenant began counseling servicemen and their families, which paved the way for his talk show. When Williams left the Navy, he was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal.