Re: Jimmy Stewart

On Jan 23, 2025 at 2:39:06 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
wrote:

On 2025-01-23 4:11 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

 On Jan 23, 2025 at 12:57:36 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
 wrote:
 

 On 2025-01-23 3:11 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

   I just learned something I never knew:
  
   Jimmy Stewart (the actor) was a soldier in WWII and rose from the rank of
   private to colonel during the war and retired in 1968 as a 2-star general.
   He’s only one of a handful of soldiers who have accomplished that
dramatic a
   rise through the ranks of the Army. And he wasn’t just doing “celebrity
 duty”
   in the Army, either. During the war, he flew dozens of B-52 combat sorties
   over Nazi Germany.
  
  

 I knew most of that but not that he had started as a private; for some
 reason, I thought pilots started higher up the food chain. I don't think
 he finally retired for the Air Force Reserve in 1968 when he reached the
 mandatory retirement age of 60. He was even on a flight during the
 Vietnam War as an observer.
 
 You're slightly wrong about his final rank: he was a brigadier general.
 Or so says Wikipedia anyway. A brigadier general is a 1-star general,
 not a 2-star. But he did reach the highest rank of any actor in American
 military history.

 
 He was a brigadier when he retired but they promoted him to major general on
 his retirement date so the official record shows him at the higher rank
(which
 also means a higher military pension). This is not uncommon for officers who
 retire in good standing. My own father retired at one rank higher than he
was
 when he put in his papers.
 

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that practice.
 

 Many other actors served in the world wars. Humphrey Bogart served in
 WWI in the Navy and a bit of shrapnel hit him in the face during an
 enemy bombardment causing his speech to change slightly to what we all
 know from his films. However, Wikipedia says this account is disputed
 and several other incidents are cited as possible sources of the scar on
 his lip.
 
 Eddie Albert (Oliver from Green Acres) served in the Navy in WWII and
 earned a Bronze Star for actions in the Pacific.
 
 Clark Gable served on bombers over Europe during WWII as a gunner.
 Hitler valued Gable above all other actors and offered a reward to
 anyone who could bring him Gable unscathed if he happened to crash or
 jump from a plane during a mission. Apparently, Hitler was fascinated by
 Gable's EARS and wanted to study them closely. As I understand it,
 Gable's ears raised some interesting questions about Hitler's racial
 theories but I don't know any further details.
 
 This is only a very few of the actors who served in war. There was a lot
 of social pressure on all men, including actors, to serve in WWII. A few
 actors escaped military service when their studios deemed them too
 valuable to risk and got exemptions for them but most served if they
 were physically able.

 
 And of course Elvis was drafted and served two years in Germany.
 
 

Ditto for Johnny Cash, who was in the Air Force, also in Germany.
Jimi Hendrix served in the 101st Airborne during his military service,
although he was discharged early(?) because he was a lousy shot and was
not thought to have the makings of a good soldier.

Can you imagine any of our current crop of celebrities going willingly to war
to fight for the nation? There may be some but none leap readily to mind. The
only ones I can think of are now too old to serve.