Already an established actor, on 27 Feb 1942, Burgess put his career on hold and joined the United States Army Air Corps, where he eventually reached the rank of Captain. He transferred to the Office of War Information and was involved in making films for GIs. He was discharged in 1945 to work on the movie The Story of G.I. Joe, in which he starred as the popular war correspondent Ernie Pyle. During his service, in 1943, Meredith starred in the military short film, Rear Gunner. A rousing recruitment film for the Army Air Corps where a young rural enlistee is initially disappointed with his job as an air mechanic, but his great marksmanship skills make him an ideal tail gunner.