Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot

By: Starr Smith, Walter Cronkite

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

Of all the celebrities who served their country during World War II - and they were legion - Jimmy Stewart was unique. On December 7, 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 Philadelphia 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 20 combat missions, including one to Berlin.

©2010 Starr Smith (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Smith's clear admiration for Stewart comes through on every page, but with an understatement that even George Bailey could have lived with." ( Publishers Weekly)

A Patriotic hero

Everything was fantastic, I have always enjoyed this actor, but now respect him even more!

Excellent

Some focus on his film career but loved the detail on the missions and what things were like for folks in the 8th Air Force.

A great actor and a better pilot.

I enjoyed this account of life with B-24 liberators. I was impressed with Mr Stewart’s war record. It was an interesting account of how things worked behind the bomb crews.

outstanding view of Jimmy Stewart's war experience!

Very good behind the scenes of a well-known movie stars experience in World War 2. A great read!

A time gone by

Patriots always inspire me. Jimmy Stewart was always a favorite movie star but now I respect him as a man and as an American. Americanism breeds excellence. History proves it.