Jimmy Stewart: Movie Star and War Hero

                            

     Jimmy Stewart was not only a great actor, but he was also a first rate pilot. Known for his clean-cut, down to earth, charming, small town presence, Jimmy Stewart had already captured the hearts of Americans with his acting, which was like his actual personality, long before the war in Europe came to America.


                                     

      Moreover, Jimmy Stewart was well educated and athletic, two qualities that would serve him well in the military. Before the acting bug bit him, Jimmy Stewart attended Princeton University, his father’s alma matter. It was there where he started acting. He would later tour with a traveling talent group called the University Players, where he met lifelong friends Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullivan. Jimmy Stewart then went to Hollywood.

      While in Hollywood, Jimmy Stewart’s dream of flying an airplane came true. Jimmy Stewart was always interested in flying an airplane. He got his first taste of flying when he was a child. A barnstorming pilot came to his hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania and gave him his first ride in an airplane. Ever after that experience, Jimmy Stewart, smitten with flying, desired to take lessons. After his acting career took off, he was able to pay for some lessons in California. He also got his pilot’s license and bought an airplane; eventually he even got his commercial pilot’s license.

                                
 
       When the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 called on him, he dutifully answered the draft. He was following in line after his father and grandfather who both served their country, in the First World War and the American Civil War respectively. It was as if he had a duty to carry on the legacy of the men in his family by serving his country when she was involved in another major war.
   
      Despite Jimmy’s willingness to serve his country, he was too underweight for the service. Thus, a diet of his favorite tuna sandwiches, spaghetti, steaks, and other rich foods and carbohydrates soon began to fatten him up to the required minimum.

     Jimmy Stewart was 32 when he entered the service, and he requested to be in the Army Air Corps because of his flying experience. After his pilot training, he became a second lieutenant. The Air Corps soon placed him as an instructor because of his previous flying experience. The early lessons and flying practice served him well as he was able to train and lead the men under his command. The Air Corps promoted him to a captain and Jimmy Stewart’s unit went to England after a long wait. While in England, he began flying B-24s (instead of the B-17s he was used to flying in the states). He demonstrated courage and tenacity in bombing raids and earned many medals for his bravery.
                           

      Jimmy Stewart even played a role in the Normandy invasion. After he arrived in England, the Air Corps promoted him again. Shortly before D-Day, in 1944, Jimmy Stewart became a lieutenant colonel. He was in charge of four strategic bombings at notable places like Caen, St. Laurent, St. Lo, and Coutances. The men of the 453^rd Bombardment Group helped distract the Germans from the Allies who would storm the beaches. Thereafter, Jimmy Stewart’s bombers played a crucial role in bombing strategic places to cut off German communications and distract the Germans from the Allied advance into France. Jimmy Stewart gained a reputation for taking risks, but he was stealthy and managed to escape harm. Because of his bravery and patriotism, he well deserves the title American Hero. It is the role of humble hero he best plays in the classic movies, and it is what best represents this American icon.

                    



                      

                                        Recommended Readings

Hayes, Richard. “Mr. Stewart Goes to War.” Historynet.com. Accessed
     February 09, 2014. http://www.historynet.com/mr-stewart-goes-to-war.htm.  

 

“Hometown Boy.” Jimmy Stewart Museum. Accessed February 09, 2014.    
     http://jimmy.org/biography/.

Smith, Starr. Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot. Minneapolis: Zenith Press, 2005.

Zimmerman, Dwight Jon. “A Wonderful Life: Jimmy Stewart, Actor and
     B-24 Bomber Pilot.”DefenseMediaNetwork. Accessed February 09, 
     2014.                                                          
     http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/a-wonderful-life-jimmy-stewart-
     actor-and-b-24-bomber-pilot/.