‘Young Forrest Gump' Leaving The Army

FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) - As a boy, Michael Conner Humphreys made a splash on the silver screen as "Young Forrest Gump."

Afterward, the Mississippi native grew up and lived the life of
normal child in the South. But like the adult version of his
character, Humphreys joined the Army and fought in an unpopular
war.

His enlistment ends June 4 and Hollywood is already calling.
He's landed a role in an independent film, playing, of course, a
soldier.

The film is called "Pathfinders," the story of the men of the
504th Parachute Regiment who jumped into Normandy early on D-Day to
disrupt German activities and find the way for the coming invasion
force.

He heads to Oregon later this year for filming, playing the part
of Eddie Livingston, one of the original pathfinders.

Humphreys said he chose not to chase an acting career as a child
because he liked school and was content to continue growing up in
the South, even though his parents would have backed him.

There were offers, but until now, the only ones he took were in
high school productions.

He joined the Army in 2005, fulfilling a deep-seated desire to
serve his country. He is an infantryman assigned to a tank
battalion at Fort Riley, Kansas.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)