Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot

Description

Of all the celebrities who served their country during World War II -and they were legion -Jimmy Stewart was unique. On December 7th, when the attack on Pearl Harbor woke so many others to the reality of war, Stewart was already in uniform - as a private on guard duty south of San Francisco at the Army Air Corps Moffet Field. Seeing war on the horizon, Jimmy Stewart, at the height of his fame after Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and his Oscar-winning turn in The Phadelphia Story in 1940, had enlisted several months earlier. Jimmy Stewart, Bomber Pilot chronicles his long journey to become a bomber pilot in combat. Author Starr Smith, the intelligence officer assigned to the movie star, recounts how Stewart's first battles were with the Air Corps high command, who insisted on keeping the naturally talented pilot out of harm's way as an instructor pilot for B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators. By 1944, however, Stewart managed to get assigned to a Liberator squadron that was deploying to England to join the mighty Eighth Air Force. Once in the thick of it, he rose to command his own squadron and flew twenty combat missions, including one to Berlin. “My father would feel honored by this book.” —Kelly Stewart Harcourt, daughter of Jimmy Stewart "We would have made Jimmy a group commander [equivalent to an army regiment] if the war had lasted another month." - General Jimmy Doolittle. "An excellent biography of a distinguished airman and fine human being." - Roger Freeman, author of The Mighty Eighth: A History of the U.S. 8th Air Force. "How wonderful it is that Starr Smith has finally directed a literary light on the personal history of Jimmy Stewart. . . . I welcomed Starr's book. It is needed and wanted. Bravo!" - Gay Talese. "This is a very well researched and written book. . . . It fills a place in history about no mere actor but a courageous and selfless man, Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart, USAF." - General Michael E. Ryan, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force. “I have met a few movie stars, but of them all, I think that Jimmy Stewart was most like those modest heroes he portrayed. Now journalist Starr Smith has raised the curtain on Stewart’s gallant service as a bomber pilot and air combat commander in World War II.” —Walter Cronkite, from the Foreword Cover Title Dedication Contents Foreword A Daughter's Tribute Introduction CHAPTER 1 Home in Pennsylvania CHAPTER 2 A Farewell to Hollywood CHAPTER 3 Bad News at Salt Lake City CHAPTER 4 Colonel Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower In Louisiana CHAPTER 5 A Winter in Boise CHAPTER 6 A Summer in Sioux City CHAPTER 7 The Wright Crew CHAPTER 8 Combat Life at Tibenham CHAPTER 9 A Mission to Bremen CHAPTER 10 Brunswick and Berlin CHAPTER 11 New Ways at Old Buc CHAPTER 12 Jimmy and Andy—"The Buzzin' Twins" CHAPTER 13 D-day—The Sixth of June CHAPTER 14 Ed Murrow and Jimmy Stewart in London CHAPTER 15 The Bombing of Switzerland CHAPTER 16 A Farewell to the ETO Postscripts A. Gloria B. The General C. The Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana D. The Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum E. Folded Wings Thanks Epilogue Bibliography Periodicals and News Sources Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Y