Re: Jimmy Stewart

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.
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.
I should mention one other example: Audie Murphy. Murphy was NOT an actor when he enlisted but became one after the war made him a household name for earning many major awards, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. (Believe it or not, Murphy was initially rejected for military service because he was not heavy enough: the minimum weight was 125 lbs. and he weighed only 119 lbs. My mind still boggles at a grown-ass man being that light but the Depression had the effect of creating lots of skinny men. I assume he bulked up a bit before re-applying and being accepted.)
--
Rhino