Jimmy Stewart’s war record included 20 combat missions as command pilot over enemy territory, including raids deep into Germany to Berlin. His missions included bombing raids to Berlin, Brunswick, Bremen, Frankfurt, and Schweinfurt. His most memorable mission, Stewart served as the flight leader of a 1000 plain raid to Berlin. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
By the end of the war he had risen to the rank of Colonel. After the war he remained with the US Air Force Reserves and was eventually promoted to Brigadier General in 1959. In 1966, he participated in a bombing strike in Vietnam, as an observer on a B-52 bomber. He retired from the Air Force in 1968 and received the Distinguished Service Medal and ultimately, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
DOES NOT SOUND LIKE SOMEONE WHO WAS FLAK HAPPY!!!!
Here he is flying the B-58 Hustler....
Wasn’t it revealed only a decade or so ago that he was on board TWO combat missions over Vietnam?
People who perform their duties flawlessly can still develop PTSD.
I wonder if the book is as poorly written as that article?
I have to wonder if he, as a big and famous and important Hollywood actor, had much to say publicly about politics.
20 bombing missions was a lot. Most guys didn’t make it that far before they got shot down or wounded. My great uncle got shot down on his 15th mission and spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.