Mission: Jimmy Stewart And The Fight For Europe

[lucas80]

I recently read this book by Robert Matzen about Stewart's service in WW2 in the Army Air Corps. It's a richly detailed book, and extremely well narrated. A brief biography of Stewart growing up in Indiana, PA, the son of a US Army officer who served in the Spanish American War, and WW1. HIs maternal grandfather was a Union general who saw heavy combat. Stewart grew up listening to the tales of exploits in wartime, and with a sense of obligation to serve. When the acting bug hit after high school he wound up in NYC training on the stage. He met up with Henry Fonda and Burgess Meredith, forming life long friendships with them, and several other future stars.
After following Fonda to Hollywood, Stewart decided he wanted to learn to fly. Knowing war was coming he wanted to determine his service, and dreamed of being a Army Air Corps pilot. He was twin engine rated, and in the reserves when WW2 broke out. He was called to active duty and for quite awhile squabbled with the Army to be assigned to a combat unit. Hollywood and the Army preferred he stay safe like so many other stars and do training films, and sell bonds. Stewart built alliances, and eventually was assigned to a B-24 unit, the bulk of his training being carried out in Sioux City, IA.
His first experience with death was in a training crash in Idaho, and then one in Sioux City. As his squadron deployed for Europe they crossed the Atlantic by flying south from Florida to Brazil, then across to Africa, and up to England. Somewhere on the first leg over he Caribbean a plane disappeared with only a brief Mayday call. Stewart quickly felt the strain of the war watching men he'd trained with die. Settled in England with the 445th Bomb Group they took four bases clustered around Norwich. If you go to Google Earth the remnants of the bases are easily seen around Hethel, Tibbenham, Old Beckenham, and Hardwick.
Like so many veterans Stewart didn't speak of the war. The bulk of the book is richly written from his official military records, and interviews with men who served with him. From the daily grind of the weather to detailed accounts of how the massive bomber formations were formed over England before heading across the Channel to bomb targets in Europe. Ever wonder how 1000 planes were prepped, the crews prepped, launched, achieved formations, and flew to their targets to hopefully drop 5000 lbs of bombs on target? Read the book. And, as 1000 B-24s formed up, there might also be B-17s forming for a raid, and all the fighters forming up, too. Lots of details from Stewart's flights from his records, including a German AA shell ripping a 2 foot hole in the plane he was flying in between him and his co-pilot. He looked down at the ground 4 miles below as more shells whistled up at them. And, then, the German fighters came at them in waves.
The book is a little short on pictures, but there are some pre-war, and some of Stewart when he returned. Old for service to begin with, you can see the massive toll the strain of combat took on Stewart from 1943-45.
When Stewart returned from the war he was unable to find roles he wanted to do. Execs threw roles at him where he played himself in combat movies. He didn't want that. He didn't work for a year. Roles dried up for lots of actors who served. Finally, Frank Capra came calling with the script for It's A Wonderful Life. Capra was on the front lines in WW2 filming the war, and knew he needed Stewart to make the lead believable. Stewart turned it down, but eventually came around to take the role, and his career was transformed. Before the war he'd done westerns, and light hearted comedies and dramas. After the war he sought out roles with substance.
TCM is featuring 24 hours of Stewart's films today. On right now is Winchester '73, a solid studio western shot in 1950. The movie features a young Rock Hudson, and Anthony Curtis, who shortened his name to Tony for the movies.
CSB, but it's a book well worth reading.

 

[Jan Itor]

I recently read this book by Robert Matzen about Stewart's service in WW2 in the Army Air Corps. It's a richly detailed book, and extremely well narrated. A brief biography of Stewart growing up in Indiana, PA, the son of a US Army officer who served in the Spanish American War, and WW1. HIs maternal grandfather was a Union general who saw heavy combat. Stewart grew up listening to the tales of exploits in wartime, and with a sense of obligation to serve. When the acting bug hit after high school he wound up in NYC training on the stage. He met up with Henry Fonda and Burgess Meredith, forming life long friendships with them, and several other future stars.
After following Fonda to Hollywood, Stewart decided he wanted to learn to fly. Knowing war was coming he wanted to determine his service, and dreamed of being a Army Air Corps pilot. He was twin engine rated, and in the reserves when WW2 broke out. He was called to active duty and for quite awhile squabbled with the Army to be assigned to a combat unit. Hollywood and the Army preferred he stay safe like so many other stars and do training films, and sell bonds. Stewart built alliances, and eventually was assigned to a B-24 unit, the bulk of his training being carried out in Sioux City, IA.
His first experience with death was in a training crash in Idaho, and then one in Sioux City. As his squadron deployed for Europe they crossed the Atlantic by flying south from Florida to Brazil, then across to Africa, and up to England. Somewhere on the first leg over he Caribbean a plane disappeared with only a brief Mayday call. Stewart quickly felt the strain of the war watching men he'd trained with die. Settled in England with the 445th Bomb Group they took four bases clustered around Norwich. If you go to Google Earth the remnants of the bases are easily seen around Hethel, Tibbenham, Old Beckenham, and Hardwick.
Like so many veterans Stewart didn't speak of the war. The bulk of the book is richly written from his official military records, and interviews with men who served with him. From the daily grind of the weather to detailed accounts of how the massive bomber formations were formed over England before heading across the Channel to bomb targets in Europe. Ever wonder how 1000 planes were prepped, the crews prepped, launched, achieved formations, and flew to their targets to hopefully drop 5000 lbs of bombs on target? Read the book. And, as 1000 B-24s formed up, there might also be B-17s forming for a raid, and all the fighters forming up, too. Lots of details from Stewart's flights from his records, including a German AA shell ripping a 2 foot hole in the plane he was flying in between him and his co-pilot. He looked down at the ground 4 miles below as more shells whistled up at them. And, then, the German fighters came at them in waves.
The book is a little short on pictures, but there are some pre-war, and some of Stewart when he returned. Old for service to begin with, you can see the massive toll the strain of combat took on Stewart from 1943-45.
When Stewart returned from the war he was unable to find roles he wanted to do. Execs threw roles at him where he played himself in combat movies. He didn't want that. He didn't work for a year. Roles dried up for lots of actors who served. Finally, Frank Capra came calling with the script for It's A Wonderful Life. Capra was on the front lines in WW2 filming the war, and knew he needed Stewart to make the lead believable. Stewart turned it down, but eventually came around to take the role, and his career was transformed. Before the war he'd done westerns, and light hearted comedies and dramas. After the war he sought out roles with substance.
TCM is featuring 24 hours of Stewart's films today. On right now is Winchester '73, a solid studio western shot in 1950. The movie features a young Rock Hudson, and Anthony Curtis, who shortened his name to Tony for the movies.
CSB, but it's a book well worth reading.

I thought you were typing the whole book.

 

[TheCainer]

I recently read this book by Robert Matzen about Stewart's service in WW2 in the Army Air Corps. It's a richly detailed book, and extremely well narrated. A brief biography of Stewart growing up in Indiana, PA, the son of a US Army officer who served in the Spanish American War, and WW1. HIs maternal grandfather was a Union general who saw heavy combat. Stewart grew up listening to the tales of exploits in wartime, and with a sense of obligation to serve. When the acting bug hit after high school he wound up in NYC training on the stage. He met up with Henry Fonda and Burgess Meredith, forming life long friendships with them, and several other future stars.
After following Fonda to Hollywood, Stewart decided he wanted to learn to fly. Knowing war was coming he wanted to determine his service, and dreamed of being a Army Air Corps pilot. He was twin engine rated, and in the reserves when WW2 broke out. He was called to active duty and for quite awhile squabbled with the Army to be assigned to a combat unit. Hollywood and the Army preferred he stay safe like so many other stars and do training films, and sell bonds. Stewart built alliances, and eventually was assigned to a B-24 unit, the bulk of his training being carried out in Sioux City, IA.
His first experience with death was in a training crash in Idaho, and then one in Sioux City. As his squadron deployed for Europe they crossed the Atlantic by flying south from Florida to Brazil, then across to Africa, and up to England. Somewhere on the first leg over he Caribbean a plane disappeared with only a brief Mayday call. Stewart quickly felt the strain of the war watching men he'd trained with die. Settled in England with the 445th Bomb Group they took four bases clustered around Norwich. If you go to Google Earth the remnants of the bases are easily seen around Hethel, Tibbenham, Old Beckenham, and Hardwick.
Like so many veterans Stewart didn't speak of the war. The bulk of the book is richly written from his official military records, and interviews with men who served with him. From the daily grind of the weather to detailed accounts of how the massive bomber formations were formed over England before heading across the Channel to bomb targets in Europe. Ever wonder how 1000 planes were prepped, the crews prepped, launched, achieved formations, and flew to their targets to hopefully drop 5000 lbs of bombs on target? Read the book. And, as 1000 B-24s formed up, there might also be B-17s forming for a raid, and all the fighters forming up, too. Lots of details from Stewart's flights from his records, including a German AA shell ripping a 2 foot hole in the plane he was flying in between him and his co-pilot. He looked down at the ground 4 miles below as more shells whistled up at them. And, then, the German fighters came at them in waves.
The book is a little short on pictures, but there are some pre-war, and some of Stewart when he returned. Old for service to begin with, you can see the massive toll the strain of combat took on Stewart from 1943-45.
When Stewart returned from the war he was unable to find roles he wanted to do. Execs threw roles at him where he played himself in combat movies. He didn't want that. He didn't work for a year. Roles dried up for lots of actors who served. Finally, Frank Capra came calling with the script for It's A Wonderful Life. Capra was on the front lines in WW2 filming the war, and knew he needed Stewart to make the lead believable. Stewart turned it down, but eventually came around to take the role, and his career was transformed. Before the war he'd done westerns, and light hearted comedies and dramas. After the war he sought out roles with substance.
TCM is featuring 24 hours of Stewart's films today. On right now is Winchester '73, a solid studio western shot in 1950. The movie features a young Rock Hudson, and Anthony Curtis, who shortened his name to Tony for the movies.
CSB, but it's a book well worth reading.

I finished it about 2 months ago and will attest to your summary. If I may add some more: I believe his daughter added quite a bit to the book's content as well. He came from a military family where both of his grandfathers served in the Civil War from Pennsylvania and his dad served in the Spanish American War as well as WWI.

I believe he flew about 20 missions and on one of them his plane took a direct flak hit below the cockpit but the plane survived somehow and stayed in formation and did return home safely. On another mission, his plane aborted the mission due to mechanical problems and the plane that took his plane's place in the formation was shot down.

He was given a promotion at one point and took over a different bomb group. After that happened, his old bomb group flew on a mission to Kassel, Germany and due to a navigational error, they were separated from the rest of the formation and flew into a virtual hornets nest of over 100 German Luftwaffe fighters who chewed the formation to shreds. Of the 36 planes that took off, only one returned to the base. Three others survived but had to make emergency landings at other bases. It was the worst one day encounter by any of the 8th AF's bomb groups during the war. He maintained an active military career even into the Vietnam War while flying as an observer on one of the Arc Light bombing missions over North Vietnam.

I never realized that he was such the ladies' man in his early days in Hollywood. Sounds like he had several affairs with some of Hollywood's leading ladies of that era. I never would have guessed it from his persona.

 

[h-hawk]

A son followed in his footsteps and was killed in Vietnam. This was just before filming The Cheyenne Social Club. Henry Fonda who was usually the recluse on the set, went out of the way to try and help his lifetime friend deal with his loss. Fonda who was a fine artist, painted a picture of Stewart's favorite horse Pie which Stewart would treasure the rest of his life.

 

[lucas80]

I thought you were typing the whole book.

I left out the part that Cainer added about Stewart being an absolute hound with the ladies. As a young man in the theater scene in NYC, and in Hollywood, he banged some of the biggest names in entertainment. I felt that would be too prurient for HORT to handle. Marlena Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Olivia DeHavilland... The list literally went on and on. When Stewart, Fonda, and Meredith lived together in NYC they lived in a building that also housed a bunch of pros. Apparently the handsome young actors got a lot of comps from the working gals.
Stewart worked very hard to maintain his good guy image in Hollywood, which for most vices was true. He wasn't a heavy drinker or gambler, but he loved tail.
Edit: One of the anecdotes in the book is that legendary Hollywood mogul Louis Mayer was worried that Stewart was gay, so he sent him to a brothel that had been set up by Mayer as a proving ground for actors. It was staffed by women that didn't make the cut as actresses. It seems like the story was related by Fonda in his memoirs, but, the young Stewart was a fox in the chicken coop on that experiment by Mayer. Different era. I am not condoning the exploitive nature of what Mayer was doing.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

Episode 95 of Angus Wallace WWII podcasts talks to a guy that wrote a book about Stewart’s military years.

Pretty good listen.

 

[lucas80]

Clark Gable was one of the few big stars like Stewart to seek combat assignments. Pre war Gable was probably the biggest male lead in Hollywood, but he sought out the job of serving on bombers. The book gives a brief description of his time in England. Officially he flew 5 missions as a waist gunner on B-17s, but men in his unit said he swapped into flight with other men, and flew many more than 5 missions. Gable was married to Carole Lombard, who was killed in a plane crash in 1942 while returning to Hollywood from a war bonds tour. The Army decided that Gable had a death wish due to his grief over losing Lombard, and pulled him from combat.