Millstone Times July 2022

Interesting People Throughout History Brigadier General James Stweart By Pam Teel

Jimmy Stewart was America's Everyman. The star of many great movies, including, It’s a wonderful Life. He was admired for his positive attitude; even to the point that President Harry Truman stated that if he were ever blessed with a son, that he would want him to be just like Jimmy Stewart. Born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart started acting while at Princeton University. Even though he graduated with a degree in architecture, he was drawn to the drama department. Although many of his later roles were darker in tone, (he did several Hitchcock films and played a troubled trial lawyer in Anatomy Of A Murder), the public's per ception of him remained that of a swell guy who wouldn't have harmed a fly, mainly because he didn't have the strength to do so. What people didn’t know about Jimmy was that he was an extremely decorated war hero, with a military ca reer spanning three decades, from 1940 to 1968. Stewart had made history as the first major American actor to join the war effort. This was not some PR stunt where they would put him somewhere safe to peel potatoes for the duration of the war, Stewart was determined to fight for his country. He actually would have had an easy excuse to avoid any actual danger because he actually failed the Army's height and weight requirements when he tried to enlist. He was determined to join and become a combat pilot. Eating everything in sight and quickly gaining ten pounds, he joined the Army Air Corps. He logged more than 300 hours of flight training, just to prove he could do it. Even then, he had to constantly fight to get anything more than a desk job, being that he was already in his 30’and his superiors did not want to risk a beloved celebrity getting blown to bits on their watch. He kept pushing and he was eventually deployed to active duty over England. He quickly established himself as his squadron's leader, due to his expertise and flight training hours. He led many bombing runs on Nazi factories and military production centers and led a squadron of bombers in the Battle of Berlin, which would later be referred to as "Black Thursday," due to the excessive number of American casualties suffered. All of this led to an impressive chest of medals by the time he left active duty in 1946, due to the end of the war. At this time, he was nearing forty. But Stewart didn't just win a war and then go home to act for the rest of his life. He remained in the Air Force Reserve for an additional 22 years, worked on a military base during the Korean War, and even flew a non-combat mission in Vietnam. By the time Stewart finally retired, he had reached the rank of Brigadier (one-star) General. Ironically, he only appeared in a couple of war movies (The Mountain Road and Malaya) as he claimed they were "almost never realistic." The Jimmy Stewart museum, (www.jimmy.org), located in Indiana Pennsylvania, houses a collection of memorabilia a and his war medals. Which in clude: The distinguished Flying Service Medal, The Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, American Defense Service Medal, European- African Campaign Medal with 3 service stars, WW11 Victory Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, French Croix De Guerre with Palm, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Stewart served 21 months overseas, completed 20 combat missions, was awarded six battle stars, promoted to brigadier general in 1959, and retired in 1968. Interested in aviation as a child, he had taken his first flight while still in Indiana, Pa. from one of the barnstorming pilots that used to travel the Mid west. As a successful actor, in 1935, Jimmy was able to afford flying lessons. He received his civilian pilot’s license in 1935 and bought his first airplane. In 1938 he obtained his commercial pilot’s license. He often flew cross country to visit his parents in Pennsylvania, navigating by the railroad tracks. In the military, he was to make extensive use of his civilian pilot’s training. In March 1941, at age 32, he reported for duty as Private James Stewart at Fort McArthur and was assigned to the Army Air Corps at Moffett Field. To comply with the regulations of the Air Corps proficiency board, Stewart required additional 100 flying hours and bought them at a nearby field, at his own expense. He then took and passed a very stiff proficiency board examination. In January 1942 Stewart was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He was then sent to Mather Field in California as a four-engine instructor, this included both the B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers. Much to his dismay, Stewart stayed stateside for almost two years working as a flight instructor, until command ing officers finally yielded to his request to be sent overseas. In November 1943, now a Captain and Operations Officer for the 703rd Bomb Squadron, 445th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force, he arrived in Tibenham, England. In March of 1944 he was transferred to the 453rd Bombardment Group at Old Buckenham (Old Buc). Throughout his combat career, Stewart flew as lead pilot in B-24 Liberators. He was command pilot in over 230 combat missions that included bombing raids into Germany, Berlin, Brunswick, Bremen, Frankfurt and Schweinfurt. After the war he remained in the US Air Force Reserves where he was eventually promoted to Brigadier General. In 1966, he participated in a bombing strike in Vietnam as an observer on a B-52 bomber. Stewart died of a heart attack caused by the embolism at the age of 89, surrounded by his children at his home in Beverly Hills, on July 2, 1997. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. The service included full military honors and three volleys of musketry.

36 The Millstone Times

July 2022