JIMMY STEWART - AN AMERICAN HERO

 Many Hollywood stars served in World War II. Most were unknown when they served and became big stars, or lesser known stars after the war. People like Paul Newman who served in the Navy . He served on the USS Bunker Hill in the Pacific. Lee Marvin, who was a Marine, saw heavy combat in the Pacific. Jack Palance, was a bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps. Charles Bronson, was a gunner on a bomber in the Army-Air Corps. Robert Stack served in the Navy from 1942 to 1945. Mel Brooks was in the army and saw heavy combat in Europe, especially at the Battle of the Bulge. Charles Durning who played Governor Pappy ODaniel in Oh Brother Where Art Thou. Durning fought at the Battle Of The Bulge and was one of just a handful of soldiers that managed to escape the Malmedy massacre. Eddie Albert who won the Navy Cross as a Naval officer saving stranded and wounded Marines at Tarawa.  Frank Sutton was Sergeant Carter on Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. He graduated from East Nashville High which is the school that I graduated from. This is a very short list of Hollywood actors who served in WW2. Then there were actors who were already established stars and on top when they volunteered to serve. Stars such as Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, Henry Fonda and James Stewart. Fonda and Stewart were very close friends. Of this latter group James Stewart probably saw more combat than anyone. He flew 20 combat missions with the 8th Air Force as the pilot of a B-24 Liberator over Germany.

 James Maitland Stewart was born on May 20, 1908 in Indiana Pennsylvania. He had two younger sisters named Virginia and Mary. His Fathers name was Alexander and his mother name was Elizabeth. Alexander owned a hardware store that was started by his grandfather and was called J.M. Hardware Company. James attended Indiana Normal School, Mercersburg Academy and Princeton University. He graduated in 1932 during the Great Depression. with a degree in architecture. Because of the depression jobs were hard to find. Stewart found work as a set-up man in an acting group on Broadway called the Falmouth Players. In time he became an actor doing small parts and was a good one. He was noticed by Hollywood in 1935 and signed a contract with MGM. It is ironic to think that if the economy had been good he might have become a famous architect rather than a famous actor. After signing with MGM he acted in 21 feature films alongside such stars as Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Clark Gable, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains and many others. One of his most famous films before World War II was Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. Stewart was nominated for best actor but the award went to Robert Donat who starred in the film Goodbye Mr. Chips. Other important films he starred in were You Can't Take It With You and The Philadelphia Story. During the peace time years before the war he earned both his private and commercial pilot licenses logging hundreds of hours in his private aircraft. He said that he was inspired by Charles Lindberg, Eddie Rickenbacker and Amelia Earhart. 

 Stewart was very patriotic and when war was eminent he tried to join the Army as a private. Originally, he wanted to go to Annapolis in order to become a Naval aviator but his father felt that he should go to Princeton. As war clouds gathered in Europe again he turned his attention to the Army. He was rejected at first because of being underweight. He was too thin for his height of 6 foot 3 inches. With the help of a Hollywood friend he was able to gain just enough weight to be inducted. Stewart was the first Hollywood star to join the military before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was inducted on March 22, 1941 at the age of 33, too old for the Aviation Cadet Training. So he applied for an aviation commission based on his college education and commercial aviation license. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on January 1, 1942 just three weeks after Pearl Harbor. This was the start of a 27 year career in the Military. Stewart came from a family with a long military tradition. His third great grandfather served in the American Revolution. His maternal grandfather was a Union General in the Civil War. His father Alex served in both the Spanish American War and World War I. It is awe inspiring when you realize what this man was willing to sacrifice so much for his country. He was risking the loss of his career, his wealth, and his life. This is the definition of a true patriot. When asked by a producer why he would give up a screen career for the military, he said: "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight."

Due to his experience and the fact that Army brass did not want to send such a famous Hollywood star into the thick of combat he spent a year training pilots at Kirtland Army Airfield in New Mexico. Stewart, however; was constantly lobbying to be sent into combat. He was trained to fly both the B-17 and B-24 bomber. He was finally able to get his wish and was sent to England in November 1943 as a Captain. Stewart was part of the 445th Bombardment Group flying out of RAF Tibenham initially in B-24's and then being transferred to RAF Buckenham. Just prior to his arrival the Army Air Corps had suffered huge losses over Schweinfurt Germany in August 1943 and Regensburg in October. The first mission cost the 8th Air Force 60 B-17's and the loss of 550 men. The 2nd mission cost 60 B-17's and over 600 men. Seventeen B-17's were scrapped due to battle damage. The losses were so great that congress came close to defunding our bombing program. Morale was low among the bomber crews but Stewart knew how to raise morale. He was a strict taskmaster and grilled his crew on their jobs and making up hypothetical situations to find out how they would react. Stewart knew every inch of his bomber and he wanted each man in the crew to have equal knowledge. He took care of his men like a real leader. Once when his men hadn't been paid for over a month he told the paymaster that if his men weren't paid within 30 minutes he would be transferred to the infantry. The men were paid on the spot. 

 Stewart volunteered for a Christmas Eve mission over Calais France that was considered a suicide mission to destroy V1 rocket launching sites. Intelligence projected that he would be facing heavy flak and fighter attacks manned by some of Germany's best fighter pilots. Stewart told his crew how dangerous the mission would be and that it would be a low level. They normally flew at 25,000 feet but this mission would be 12,000 feet. He told them that he would not force any of them to go on this mission if they didn't want to go. All of his men volunteered to go with him. The mission was a great success. Twelve V1 launching sites were destroyed. After the mission on January 7, 1944 Stewart was promoted to Major. On a mission to Ludwigshaven Germany the flight leaders navigation was off by 30 degrees. Stewart was aware of the error but rather than correcting and reduce the bomber groups safety he stayed with the formation. It was a costly mistake by the formation leader because over 60 German fighters attacked them below Paris. The lead element of bombers were shot down with many casualties. Stewart kept his formation together and brought them all home safely.

  Because of his rank and celebrity he organized dances for his younger officers and sometimes played the piano. During this time he met Winston Churchill's daughter-in-law Pamela Churchill who said that  She said that James was such a gentleman and he was really adored by his men. Even though he was a hard commander they saw him as fair. It was not beyond him to recommend his men for medals and promotions if he thought they were deserving. He earned the nickname "Lucky Jimmy" because he always brought his crews home safely. Stewart had a unique way of dealing with his men when they violated the rules. Once after they stole a keg of beer from the Officers club he walked in on them while they were drinking beer from the stolen beer keg. He asked if they knew anything about who stole it but they denied knowing anything. He then proceeded to have a beer with the men. Stewart finished his beer and as he was leaving said "I'm sure that nothing like this will happen again" and it never did. He flew raids deep into Germany and as far as Berlin. Stewart endured all the dangers, and hardships with his men and he earned their respect for that. The higher brass began to worry that if Stewart was killed or captured it would be a great blow for the public war morale. After 12 missions he was transferred to the 453rd Bombardment Group in March 1944 and placed on desk duty. He became the operations officer and was one of the best mission planners in the Army Air Corps. In May he was briefed on the coming D-Day invasion of France and began flying missions in support of it. He was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel on June 5, 1944. 

 Before and after the invasion his bombers were hitting German positions in France. During 33 missions he only lost 4 bombers. For this service as deputy commander he was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Air Medals and the French Croix de Guerre with Palms. On March 29, 1945 he was promoted to Full Colonel in the Army Air Corps. Stewart had been decorated by America, Britain and France for his service. The men who served under him always remembered Colonel Stewart remaining calm and in control. They said that he never raised his voice. This was a great asset during combat when crews watched bombers being hit and exploding all around them. Bodies and body parts were falling from planes. Stewart said "Fear is an insidious and deadly thing. It can warp judgement, freeze reflexes, breed mistakes. Worse, it is contagious. I knew that my own fear if not checked could infect my crew members and I could feel it growing within me". Both James Stewart and Clark Gable had bounties on their heads because they were famous Hollywood actors. German pilots were promised 100,000 Rheichs Marks if they shot either of them down. Both men were famous not only in the United States but also in Europe. Clark Gable served as a gunner on a bomber. Hitler actually wanted both men captured and he wanted to meet them personally. He thought that their capture would be a huge boost to German morale. 

After the war Stewart returned to acting. His first movie, It's A Wonderful Life was his first movie after the war but it did not enjoy great success at the box office. It is a classic today and is shown every Christmas. Stewart's raw emotion that he displayed in the film was real. Some say that it was helped by PTSD that he suffered as a result of being in combat. Stewart did not want to do war films and said that he preferred comedies. He would later become a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve when the Air Force was created in 1947. While on active duty training he served in the Strategic Air Command flying B-47's and B-52 bombers. In 1955 he starred in a movie called Strategic Air Command. While at a party hosted by his friend Gary Cooper he met Gloria McClean. A year later they were married and had twin daughters. Gloria had two boys from a previous marriage. Tragically, her son Ronald would be killed serving as a Marine lieutenant in the Vietnam war on June 8, 1969. Stewart was promoted to Brigadier General in the Air Force on July 23, 1959 becoming the highest ranking actor in American history. During the Vietnam War he flew as a non duty observer on a B-52 combat mission in February 1966. He retired from the Air Force on May 31, 1968. The same year that I started my own career in the Air Force. Stewart appeared in 88 films and television shows over his lifetime. He won many awards associated with his acting career. Stewart was also an author and poet. President Reagan awarded him the Medal of Freedom. His beloved wife Gloria died in 1994 and James Stewart would die of a heart attack on July 2, 1997. More than 3,000 people attended his funeral. People like Bob Hope, Carol Burnett and Robert Stack along with many other stars. He was buried with full military honors at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale California. Although most Hollywood actors were liberal in the 1940's they were patriotic. They either served in the military or supported the war effort through war bond drives and entertaining the troops. Hollywood is not the same today. There are many patriotic actors but unless they have already made it big like Jon Voight or Clint Eastwood they will be blacklisted if they reveal that they are conservative or patriotic. I think that it is safe to say that most Hollywood stars hate America. Even for his day James Stewart was an exceptional man and American patriot.