I never missed an episode of The Rifleman. Chuck Connors was one of my heroes. He also played professional basketball. I wanted to be Johnny Crawford, but then he died with Alzheimers in 2021 so maybe not so much.
He joined the United States Army following America's entrance into World War II.
During most of the war, he served as a tank-warfare instructor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and later at West Point in New York.