if I may be allowed, he was really a man to admire Jimmy Stewart
In August 1943 he was finally assigned to the 445th Bombardment Group at
Sioux City AAB, Iowa, first as Operations Officer of the 703rd Bombardment Squadron and then as its commander, at the rank of Captain. In December, the 445th Bombardment Group flew its
B-24 Liberator bombers to
RAF Tibenham,
Norfolk,
England and immediately began combat operations. While flying missions over Germany, Stewart was promoted to Major. In March 1944, he was transferred as group operations officer to the
453rd Bombardment Group, a new B-24 unit that had been experiencing difficulties. As a means to inspire his new group, Stewart flew as command pilot in the lead B-24 on numerous missions deep into Nazi-occupied Europe. These missions went
uncounted at Stewart's orders. His "official" total is listed as 20 and is limited to those with the 445th. In 1944, he twice received the
Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in combat and was awarded the
Croix de Guerre. He also received the
Air Medal with three
oak leaf clusters. In July 1944, after flying 20 combat missions, Stewart was made
Chief of Staff of the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing of the
Eighth Air Force. Before the war ended, he was promoted to colonel, one of very few Americans to rise from private to colonel in four years.