Sergeant Bea Arthur? It may have been so!

According to an article from Broadway.com, reports have begun to surface that Bea Arthur, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Vera Charles in Mame and who was known nationally for her roles on The Golden Girls and Maude, served in the Marine Corps for two and a half years.  Among the recently surfaced documents includes a letter in which Bea described her previous employment as she prepared to enlist.  She began basic training in 1943 and was initially given duties as a typist in Washington, D.C.  Performance reviews reflected her famously brassy personality, calling her "vocabulary 'excellent', her conversation 'argumentative', and her general behavior 'overly aggressive.'  Her overall personality was rated as 'officious -- but probably a good worker -- if she has her own way!'"  She climbed from the rank of private to corporal to sergeant to staff sergeant before receiving an honorable discharge in September 1945.