In 1941, Jimmy Stewart was at the absolute peak of his career. He had just won the Academy Award for Best Actor for “The Philadelphia Story” and was one of the highest-paid, most eligible bachelors in America. When World War II broke out, most Hollywood stars who drafted were kept in safe, domestic roles—making propaganda films, visiting troops, or doing bond drives. Jimmy Stewart utterly refused that path.See More…
Stewart desperately wanted to fly combat missions. However, when he first tried to enlist, the military rejected him for being underweight for his height. Instead of taking the easy way out and returning to his mansion, he hired a personal trainer, stuffed himself with high-calorie foods, and practically forced his way into the Army Air Forces after gaining the required weight.
The military still tried to keep their prized movie star on the ground as a flight instructor, terrified of the PR disaster if he died. Stewart fought the bureaucracy until he finally commanded his way onto the front lines in Europe. He didn’t sit in an office; he personally piloted 20 high-risk combat missions deep into Nazi Germany, flying massive B-24 Liberator bombers.
During these runs, his plane was repeatedly blasted by anti-aircraft fire, and he watched his close friends’ planes explode and plunge to the earth. On one terrifying mission, a German flak shell blew a hole directly through the floorboards of his cockpit—right between his feet. He survived by mere inches.
When the war ended, Stewart returned to Hollywood as a highly decorated Colonel, sporting the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre. But he was heavily traumatized by what today we call PTSD; he had lost a dangerous amount of weight, his hair had gone grey, and he suffered from a severe nervous tremor.
His very first movie back was the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” in 1946. In the famous scene where his character, George Bailey, breaks down in a bar, weeping and begging God for help, those tears weren’t just acting. Stewart later admitted he was channeling the real-life grief, horror, and survivor’s guilt of the war.
Just like Newman in image.png, Jimmy Stewart was a man who looked death in the face and chose duty over extreme wealth and safety. He stayed in the military reserves for decades, eventually retiring as a Brigadier General—making him the highest-ranking actor in American military history. He remains one of the most deeply respected and genuinely loved figures the world has ever seen.
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