Actor Jimmy Stewart, born in Indiana PA, left his career as a Hollywood star to enlist in World War II. A pilot, he enlisted to help fly, but was instead put in the Air Force Motion Picture Division, to help recruit more airmen. Eventually he convinced his commander to send him to Europe, where he commanded the 445th bombers. Stewart chose to fly with his men, rather than remain on the ground, and took the loss of his men very hard. In one mission alone, he lost 13 planes and 130 men. In another mission, to bomb a rocket facility, the instruments in Stewart's cockpit malfunctioned and 12 bombers dropped at least 30 tons of bombs on civilians. Stewart returned from the war a shell of a man - unable to eat or sleep, and looking nearly twice his age. No longer suitable as a romantic lead for any movie in Hollywood, he did not work until Frank Capra cast him in A Wonderful Life - where we see Stewarts PTSD captured for the world to see.
Stewarts acting career was slow to take off, but he eventually starred in some of the most popular movies of the day, including classics still loved nearly 80 years later. He was nominated for an Academy award for Mr Smith Goes To Washington, and won an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story.
"Sensing America’s eventual involvement in the war in Europe, Stewart enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 1941. An avid pilot in civilian life, he was assigned to the Air Corps and logged more than 1,800 hours of flight time in some 20 bomber missions. Before he returned to civilian life in 1945, he had risen to the rank of colonel and had received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Croix de Guerre. He remained in the reserves until 1968 and was promoted to brigadier general in 1959."
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Stewart
Stewart had trouble enlisting in the war - he was too thin. He binged on ice cream and chocolate bars in an attempt to gain enough to serve. Shortly before the assault on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Stewart was called into service.
Asked by a studio boss why he wanted to give up his life in Hollywood, Stewart said: 'This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight'.
Stewart & Clark Gable
Initially, Stewart was put in the Air Force Motion Picture Division, with commanders hoping that his appearances and PR stunts would inspire more airmen to sign up. Stewart asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe, and the request was reluctantly granted. He was put in command of a B-24 bomber group, the 445th.
As the commander, he could have stayed on the ground, but he chose to fly with his men.
Author Jimmy Matzen wrote: 'He was a perfectionist and he was so hard on himself. It wasn't just that he had responsibility for his plane, if he was in a group it was 15-20 planes and it was sometimes 75-100 planes. 'It just got to him and it got to him pretty fast.
Stewart flew in 20 missions. Before long the stress caused him physical issues, including an inability to keep food down. He was surviving on peanut butter and ice cream. Unable to sleep, he was worn out physically and emotionally. When his pilots were killed, he wrote letters to each of the parents personally. A raid on the city of Gotha, Germany, led to the loss of 13 planes under his command, with 130 of his men killed. Those who survived told horrific tales of bodies flying through the air and planes exploding in front of them. Nazi pilots followed the planes as they went down, to make sure there were no survivors.
The very next day, Stewart had to do it all over again, leading a nearly identical mission. Thankfully, the second time went much better, but the stress and shock and grief followed him.
That however, was not even the worst of it for Stewart. Assigned to bomb a V-1 rocket facility in Siracourt, a village in northern France, The instruments in Stewart's cockpit malfunctioned and 12 bombers dropped at least 30 tons of general purpose bombs on civilians in the city of Tonnerre. Stewart's pilots tried to cover for him but he took the blame himself, something which earned him their ultimate respect.
Pilots who had flown with Stewart referred to him as "flak happy" - a term that refers to what we now call PTSD. After getting a leave of absence Stewart spent weeks staying with his friend Henry Fonda in Los Angeles doing nothing but decompress.
Returning from the war, Stewart faced a grim reality: He was 37 but looked 50 and his career as a romantic lead was over. He struggled to find work until director Frank Capra hired him for It's A Wonderful Life.
Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on filmed for potentially millions to see. But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.
The town of Indiana PA, where Stewart was born, has a museum dedicated to him year round, and a month long Wonderful Life Christmas Festival, with events each week-end.
Read More about the museum here:
And the festival here:
Seneca Falls NY was the inspiration for Frank Capra’s Bedford Falls. There is a museum in Seneca Falls highlighting the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
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