James Stewart

[Navy Chief]

Watched "Mr Hobbs Takes A Vacation the other night. I've seen it before, many times.

I truly cannot say I've ever seen a movie with Jimmy Stewart that I didn't like. Oh I liked some more than others, of course. But all in all, he made so many great movies. That, and he was a great American, in my opinion.

His acting style; specifically his voice, set him apart from everyone else. He could make a mundane script interesting, just by speaking. To me, he didn't sound like he was acting; but that he assumed each role personally.

Navy Chief

[N2056]

I always regarded him as a class act. The Hollywood crowd these days is so screwed up that I pretty much refuse to have anything to do with 'em. I might go see a movie once or twice a year.

[Navy Chief]

I found a great youtube video tribute of Jimmy, narrated by George Kennedy.

AIEk-1g_D8A

NC

[Lionheart]

An awesome guy...

:applause:

A golden personality.


Bill

[Wittpilot]

And just think, an actor who actually flew combat in WWII, and served in the Air Force after the war...I believe he is one of the highest ranking officer that was also an actor that we have ever had is that right???

-witt

[Wittpilot]

Taken from Wikipedia...


In August 1943 he was finally assigned to the 445th Bombardment Group at Sioux City AAB (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux_Gateway_Airport), Iowa, first as Operations Officer of the 703rd Bombardment Squadron and then as its commander, at the rank of Captain. In December, the 445th Bombardment Group flew its B-24 Liberator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-24_Liberator) bombers to RAF Tibenham (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Tibenham), England (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England) and immediately began combat operations. While flying missions over Germany, Stewart was promoted to Major. In March 1944, he was transferred as group operations officer to the 453rd Bombardment Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/453rd_Bombardment_Group), a new B-24 unit that had been experiencing difficulties. As a means to inspire his new group, Stewart flew as command pilot in the lead B-24 on numerous missions deep into Nazi-occupied Europe. These missions went uncounted at Stewart's orders. His "official" total is listed as 20 and is limited to those with the 445th. In 1944, he twice received the Distinguished Flying Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_States)) for actions in combat and was awarded the Croix de Guerre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croix_de_Guerre). He also received the Air Medal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Medal) with three oak leaf clusters (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_leaf_cluster). In July 1944, after flying 20 combat missions, Stewart was made Chief of Staff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_Staff) of the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing of the Eighth Air Force (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Air_Force). Before the war ended, he was promoted to colonel, one of very few Americans to rise from private to colonel in four years.
At the beginning of June 1945, Stewart was the presiding officer of the court-martial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court-martial) of a pilot and navigator who were charged with dereliction of duty when they accidentally bombed the Swiss city of Zurich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Zurich_in_World_War_II#Zurich) the previous March – the first instance of U.S. personnel being tried over an attack on a neutral country. The Court acquitted the accused.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-33>[34] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Stewart#cite_note-33)</SUP>
Stewart continued to play an active role in the United States Air Force Reserve (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Reserve_Command) after the war, achieving the rank of Brigadier General (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigadier_general_(United_States)) on July 23, 1959.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-34>[35] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Stewart#cite_note-34)</SUP> Stewart did not often talk of his wartime service, perhaps due to his desire to be seen as a regular soldier doing his duty instead of as a celebrity. He did appear on the TV series, The World At War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_At_War) to discuss the October 14, 1943, bombing mission to Schweinfurt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweinfurt), which was the center of the German ball bearing manufacturing industry. This mission is known in USAF history as Black Thursday (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Raid_on_Schweinfurt) due to the high casualties it sustained; in total, 60 aircraft were lost out of 291 dispatched, as the raid consisting entirely of B-17s was unescorted all the way to Schweinfurt and back due to the contemporary escort aircraft available lacking the range. Fittingly, he was identified only as "James Stewart, Squadron Commander" in the documentary.
He served as Air Force Reserve commander of Dobbins Air Reserve Base (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobbins_Air_Reserve_Base) in the early 1950s. In 1966, Brigadier General James Stewart flew as a non-duty observer in a B-52 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-52_Stratofortress) on a bombing mission during the Vietnam conflict. At the time of his B-52 flight, he refused the release of any publicity regarding his participation as he did not want it treated as a stunt, but as part of his job as an officer in the Air Force Reserve. After 27 years of service, Stewart retired from the Air Force on May 31, 1968.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-35>[36] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Stewart#cite_note-35)</SUP>

[Panther_99FS]

Stewart=Had the utmost amount of respect without demanding it. :medals:

I would've been extremely honored to serve with him

[OBIO]

When most pilots to be were yearning to be Fighter Pilots, James Stewart actively sought the role of Bomber Pilot. He was initially rejected because he was 10 pounds under weight. He tried again, and was rejected again because he was 5 pounds under weight. He put up a mighty fight over the value of 5 pounds of flesh in exchange for a passion and desire to be a pilot of a bomber when most pilots to be were wanting to be fighter pilots.

He never used his celebrity status to get ahead in his military career, and he never made a big to do over his military career. He was a Bomber Pilot, a Bomber Commander...not some powdered poof.

If we had some actors/actresses in Hollyweird with his sense of patriotism, sense of duty, natural acting ability...Hollyweird wouldn't be so weird.

OBIO

[Snuffy]

He certainly was a class act. :engel016:

[Railrunner130]

I read Jimmy Stewart:Bomber Pilot not too long ago. We need more leaders like him today.

[Brian_Gladden]

I read a story once about Jimmy's first ride in a B-58. The Pilot was quite nervous when he had been told he was taking General Stewart up for an orientation flight. He said General Stewart was a consummate professional and asked excellent questions about the airplane.

After strapping in and taxiing out, the general asked for a max performance takeoff which the pilot readily agreed to.

The comment that stood out was General Stewart's "Whoa Nellie!" over the intercom as the Hustler climbed out at 300 kts and at a 70 degree angle....


Brian

[Crusader]

Stewart=Had the utmost amount of respect without demanding it. :medals:

I would've been extremely honored to serve with him

Very well said Panther . I too would be extremely honored to be either on the ground or part of his aircrew or any unit he commanded . . What an outstanding American . :medals:

Rich

[TARPSBird]

The comment that stood out was General Stewart's "Whoa Nellie!" over the intercom as the Hustler climbed out at 300 kts and at a 70 degree angle....
Brian
Hehe, I've seen so many Jimmy Stewart movies I can imagine what his voice sounded like in the headset. :icon_lol:
Just watched Spirit of St. Louis on Saturday. More like tried to watch, I had been out in the heat and humidity and was already tired when the flick came on, and watching Lindbergh fight fatigue during the flight was too much for me. Turned it off and took a nap.
Glenn Ford (Blackboard Jungle, 3:10 to Yuma) retired in 1968 as a Captain (O-6) in the Naval Reserve. After Jimmy I'd say Glenn was the actor to gain the most senior rank level.