Today, Mike and I enjoyed a magnificent tour of the National Museum of World War II Aviation here in Colorado Springs, CO. It was not necessarily the content of the museum that made the tour so fascinating, but the stories our tour guide shared with us, two in particular I want to pass on. Here’s the first!

On March 22, 1941, executives from the Hollywood film studio MGM threw a farewell party for their departing star, actor Jimmy Stewart. The following day he was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps as an enlisted man and stationed at Moffett Field, California. His salary dropped from $12,000 a week to $21 a month!

A crowd of girls waited just outside the base’s gates, eager to get a glimpse of their idol. In got so bad that his commanding officer put a sign up requesting civilians leave Stewart alone until after he finished his training! In his nine months on the base, Stewart took extensive additional courses with the idea of obtaining a commission.

In January, 1942, Stewart received his commission and because he had logged over 400 hours as a civilian, he was allowed to take basic flight training and received his pilot wings. A month later, appearing in uniform at the Academy Awards, he presented Best Actor Oscar to Gary Cooper for Sergeant York.

Over the next nine months he instructed on different aircraft including the B-17 bombers and flew bombardiers in the training school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the autumn of 1943, Stewart went to England as Commanding Officer of the 703d Bomb Squadron. He began flying combat missions and in March 1944 was appointed Operations Officer of the 453^rd Bomb Group.

Stewart ended the war with 20 combat missions. He remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was promoted to Brigadier General in July 1959.

Lt. Gen. Martial Valin, chief of staff, French air force, awards the Croix de Guerre with Palm to Colonel Stewart for exceptional services in the liberation of France.