America two hundred years ago and her name was a common one, they would

Have shrugged.

Every guest noticed that the Don paid no particular attention to this third son.

Michael had been his favorite before the war and obviously the chosen heir to run

The family business when the proper moment came. He had all the quiet force and

Intelligence of his great father, the born instinct to act in such a way that men had

No recourse but to respect him. But when World War II broke out, Michael

Corleone volunteered for the Marine Corps. He defied his father's express

Command when he did so.

Don Corleone had no desire, no intention, of letting his youngest son be killed

In the service of a power foreign to himself. Doctors had been bribed, secret

Arrangements had been made. A great deal of money had been spent to take the

Proper precautions. But Michael was twenty-one years of age and nothing could

Be done against his own willfulness. He enlisted and fought over the Pacific

Ocean. He became a Captain and won medals. In 1944 his picture was printed in

Life magazine with a photo layout of his deeds. A friend had shown Don Corleone

The magazine (his family did not dare), and the Don had grunted disdainfully and

said, "He performs those miracles for strangers."

When Michael Corleone was discharged early in 1945 to recover from a