Posted on 05/23/2021 12:20:05 PM PDT by mylife
The impact is deafening. More than 18,000 feet above the German city of Fürth, the World War II B-24 bomber they call Dixie Flyer has just delivered its full payload onto a German manufacturer,
That’s because a German shell (or flak) has pierced directly through the center of his B-24 Liberator. The whiplash is so intense that only harnesses keep him in his seat. Still, Stewart rises in the air; pilot Capt. Neil Johnson’s hands are briefly shaken from the controls; and for a moment, the entire plane is consumed with smoke as it violently ascends. When Stewart finally gets his bearings, he’s able to look down and see the hole in the aircraft—the edge of it is inches from his boot. Almost two feet in width, the gap offers a clear view through the plane’s fuselage and straight on to the German landscape below.
(Excerpt) Read more at denofgeek.com ...
I didn’t know that about their son. What a tragedy.
HALLELUJAH!
In addition, almost all Americans were normal people then, too. Not the constant freak show we have today.
Serious times command serious people. There were no more serious times than WW I to the Depression, WW II, and the Korean War.
We are living in not-serious times where we indulge all the weirdos, allow bums and drugs to control our cities, and allow communist insurgents to roam free and destroy the USA.
There may have been plenty of weirdos, but the normal people correctly perceived them as weirdos and kept them out of public view.
As a kid in the 50s, I rarely heard about drugs in upstate NY and when I did, it was always about some shadowy, mysterious, surreal characters in far-away New York City.
another little known fact about Jimmy- He once helped smuggle out a ‘big foot bone (or hand to whatever it was) from nepal i think it was- some famous explorer wanted the bone, and engaged Jimmy to get it out of the country for him without anyone knowing-
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/saga-of-the-yeti-hand
Cool story.
My dad was a B-52 pilot. He left the Air Force about the time of this story.
I thought the son was hers from a first marriage and JS adopted him after they married.
Fonda and Stewart were in acting school together...
Reading that article, I had struck by the similarities between General Stewart’s real life experiences and the pilots depicted in the movie “Twelve O’Clock High”.
The ending scene where Gregory Peck’s character has a nervous breakdown was chilling. Evidently not too far-fetched either.
Yes, her natural son and his adopted son. Not an Army lt. but a Marine lt., killed in the DMZ and posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
Not only was deviancy dumbed down as stated by one the last sane democrats (Patrick Daniel Moynihan). We made it acceptable in our mad drive toward absolute egalitarianism.
Interesting, thanks for posting.
Good thing that didn't happen while Jane Fonda was there giving aid and comfort to the enemy. That would have been - awkward.
Twelve O’Clock High and Wyler’s The Best Years of Their Lives, along with Memphis Belle were my favorite Army Air Force movies. Wyler actually flew as a civilian film maker in the bombers which had a loss rate of 1 in 4 at that time. The scene in which Dean Jagger comes home from the war and is walking across the field to his home is powerful.
Reading about Stewart’s nervous breakdown immediately brought “12 O’Clock High” to mind. That’s my all-time favorite movie about leadership, command and sacrifice. Nothing else comes close.
A guy I used to work with who was in the army in Vietnam told a great story about Jimmy Stewart. His unit was out on patrol when pretty much from out of nowhere Jimmy Stewart popped up for a visit. He said he was awesome. As he was leaving he asked if anyone was from California and said he would contact their families when he got back to let them know they were ok. I think my friend said there were two guys from California. Jimmy must have sensed the disappointment from the rest of the guys and told everyone to write down their name and number and he would contact the family. And in a little while my friend’s mom got a call in Queens NY from Jimmy Stewart to let her know her son was doing good. Awesome guy.
The poem he wrote about his dog Beau is really heart-warming. I put on par with Kipling’s Four Feet Trotting Behind.
Thanks for posting that.
I always loved it when Jimmy was on Carson.
Pluto TV has a Carson channel.
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