A Star on a Larger Stage

     This time of year brings out the old favorites. What are yours? "Miracle on 34th Street?" "Charlie Brown?" Certainly, "A Wonderful Life" makes a majority of lists of must-see Christmas movies.
     I confess, Jimmy Stewart is a favorite in our home. His everyman characters capture our attention and endear. We would love to see a real Mr. Smith in Washington. But, I digress.

     Mr. Stewart was an everyman, starting with humble roots in his hometown of Indiana, PA. He, like most men of his generation, in spite of his notoriety, wanted to serve his country in WWII. And serve did. He enlisted shortly after winning an Oscar for his role as a reporter in The Philadelphia Story. He was so skinny he had to tell the enlistment officer to forget to weigh him during his physical.
     He won the Distinguished Flying Cross as commander of the 703rd Sqaudron of the 445th Bomb Group, flying the B-24 Liberator. Reportedly, at least one of his planes was called, Four Yanks and a Jerk. He flew 23 combat missions and, according to Donald L. Miller's Masters of the Air (Simon and Schuster; 2006) he did not lose a man to enemy fire or mental breakdown (a serious issue throughout the European air war). His men were pleasantly surprised to find his persona much like what they enjoyed on the screen. "Aww...now doggone it, fellas..."

For good info and pictures of WWII aircraft, check out this site: http://www.warbirdalley.com