Being there . . . for a few moments to meet and greet historically the man who best
cinematographically offered you over the decades a paradigm, a model or pattern, of a life fully
and vitally lived in relation to a central value or ambition – – in other words, embrace a motion
picture performer as a life-model who was, and may still be, an inexhaustible source of
clarification for the good and best of choice making. In short, engage your favorite movie star to
help you strive for conscious realization of your own great individuality, guide you by example
to your fullest awareness of your highest value.
Like you, there are many in this reviewer’s outer public world, in addition to the few dozen in
his inner world of celluloid dreams. At first, the two were Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes, and
proud of it, lest you chuckle, risking a nasty glance. Much later, my heroes were stronger, Joel
McCrea, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Glenn Ford, and every B Western actor who uttered a
word. The one who stands before me, and the only elder I will kneel to is Harry Carey. When in
emotional trouble, which is all the time, I call upon friends, Gregory Peck, George O’Brien,
George Montgomery, and Jimmy Stewart. No solid, informative, revealing his inner core
biography of Gregory exists. Jonathan Coe’s splendid, “Jimmy Stewart – A Wonderful Life” is a
temporary fill-in until the definitive story, wrinkles, pimples and all, are revealed – – certainly no
more than a half-sentences worth. But an entire book on his World War II experiences in the
U.S. Air Force? WOW!!! AT LAST!! Before receiving a copy, this reviewer, if know where
published, would have flown to the publisher’s press, Air World Books, in Barnsley, S. Yorkshire,
England, to buy a thousand copies for self and friends, et. al.
MEET BRAVE BRIGADIER GENERAL JIMMY STEWART AT WAR AND AFTER! YES, THE BELOVED,
INCOMPARABLE MOTION PICTURE ACTOR WHO DEMANDED TO FLY DANGEROUS BOMBER
MISSIONS AT THE HEIGHT OF WORLD WAR II. YES, THAT GENTLE, EXTRAORDINARILY BRAVE
MAN WHO BELIEVED SO IMPLICITLY IN THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF CINEMA AS AN ART,
AND THE FEATURE LENGTH MOVIE AS A POTENTIAL LEARNING TOOL FOR USE BY GOOD MEN
AND WOMEN WHO, AS EXEMPLARS, WRITE AND ACT OUT BOTH TRADITIONAL AMERICAN
VALUES, AND THE FULLEST AWARENESS OF THEIR OWN HIGHEST VALUES. WE WHO HAVE BEEN
MOST TOUCHED BY HIS WORK, LIKE THAT OF GREGORY PECK’S, FEEL THAT EACH IN HIS MOTIF
HAS BEEN A GIANT IN THE WORLD OF CINEMA, THAT WHEN COMPARED TO TODAY’S VALUE
SYSTEMS, WAS WAY AHEAD OF THEIR TIME.
Reviewed and highly, highly recommended by Don DeNevI
“JAMES STEWART AT WAR – – His Career In the USAAF”, by Pavel Turk. Pen & Sword Air World,
an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Limited, Philadelphia: first published in Great Britain in 2023,
112 pages, over 100 photos, many in color; 6 ¼” x 9 ¾”, hardcover, $34.95. Visit,
www.penandswordbooks.com, or email, Uspen-and-sword@casematepublishers.com.
For this priceless sketch of Jimmy at war, we have a renowned Czech author and historian on
the aerial aspects of World War II to thank. Pavel Turk, one of the world’s three leading experts
on the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, describes in detail from his research how it was Jimmy’s
main and favorite aircraft to command. Pavel has previously written two separate volumes of
the standard, regularly used, “B-24 Liberator Handbook”, which were initially published in the
Czech language, and co-authored the classic, “B-24 Liberator in the RAF Coastal Command
Service”. The first-rate author now lives in his homeland, the Czech Republic. He cogently lays
out his entire Stewart storyline in the flap of his jacket, adding to our desire to learn more since
previous biographical sketches hardly introduce Jimmy’s dangerous 20 + missions over German
occupied Europe over the span of more than year. We learn that Captain Stewart was always
determined, NAY, insisted, upon flying the most dangerous missions under his command. “If my
team is going up, I’m going with them,” he informed his superiors.
Jimmy was already a Hollywood star when the United States went to war on 7 December
- After all, the year before, he had won the Academy Award as Best Actor for his role in
“The Philadelphia Story”. Everyone knew who he was. Since he achieved a private pilot’s license
early on, when his name was drawn by the Draft Board in late 1940, he had applied to join the
U.S. Army Air Corps. A month after war had been declared on Japan and Germany, he was
called into active duty, and directed to the 929 th Bombardier Training School at Kirtland Field in
New Mexico, in August of 1942. Although his film company had gotten him a safe designation
from battle-duty, Jimmy objected to the “static personnel” label and literally demanded to fly in
combat like the other boys. Soon thereafter, he was surprised to find himself Commander of
the 703 rd Bombardment Squadron. On 17 November 1943, his operational war began the day
after he landed in England.
With inspiring photos, we are privy to many of his bombing missions beginning on December
13, 1943. On that date, he attacked the U-boat facilities at Kiel. A week later, he was assigned
with other B-24s to bomb the port at Bremen. In tense, near perfect narration, Pavel describes
18 additional missions until the end of the war, fifteen months later. His targets spanned all of
Germany, including Berlin. What a joy to read while perusing photos of the “Liberator” he
commanded and the men he served with. Surprisingly, his contribution to victory also included
serving as an Operations Officer for a period, leading the Liberators of the 2 nd Combat Bomb
Wing to an attack on the German marshalling yards at Halle. On that dangerous flight, he sat on
the navigator’s seat of a de Haviland “Mosquito”. He rose to the rank of major from private in
just four years; was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with three oak
leaf clusters. The French bestowed him with the Croix de Guerre with palm. The final
few chapters describe his way home, then after the war as a lieutenant colonel who
immediately went back to the job he loved, a kind and good actor with words and guidance to
help countless others via the silver screen. James Maitland Stewart became the highest-ranking
actor in American military history. And, for that reason alone his life is as inspiring as it can get
and worthy of a lengthy wholesome read.
