Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: Jimmy Stewart
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2025 18:14:22 -0500
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 82
Message-ID: <vmuige$1rove$1@dont-email.me>
References: <vmu7ol$1phml$3@dont-email.me> <vmuag1$1psmo$1@dont-email.me>
 <vmub9r$1phml$6@dont-email.me> <vmugea$1psmo$3@dont-email.me>
 <vmuh7c$1r9vd$2@dont-email.me>
Reply-To: nobody@nowhere.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:14:22 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="a773564301da963c77943f41795e223d";
	logging-data="1958894"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+n86BmcRIbjtftRabNs7jfgLReAnoHMqw="
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:Pk1Le9eU0vVWDnf/CjmolANDi1o=
In-Reply-To: <vmuh7c$1r9vd$2@dont-email.me>
Content-Language: en-US
Bytes: 5239

On 1/23/2025 5:52 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
> On Jan 23, 2025 at 2:39:06 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> On 2025-01-23 4:11 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
>>>   On Jan 23, 2025 at 12:57:36 PM PST, "Rhino" <no_offline_contact@example.com>
>>>   wrote:
>>>   
>>>>   On 2025-01-23 3:11 PM, BTR1701 wrote:
>>>>>     I just learned something I never knew:
>>>>>     
>>>>>     Jimmy Stewart (the actor) was a soldier in WWII and rose from the rank of
>>>>>     private to colonel during the war and retired in 1968 as a 2-star general.
>>>>>     He’s only one of a handful of soldiers who have accomplished that
>>>>> dramatic a
>>>>>     rise through the ranks of the Army. And he wasn’t just doing “celebrity
>>>>>   duty”
>>>>>     in the Army, either. During the war, he flew dozens of B-52 combat sorties
>>>>>     over Nazi Germany.
>>>>>     
>>>>>     
>>>>   I knew most of that but not that he had started as a private; for some
>>>>   reason, I thought pilots started higher up the food chain. I don't think
>>>>   he finally retired for the Air Force Reserve in 1968 when he reached the
>>>>   mandatory retirement age of 60. He was even on a flight during the
>>>>   Vietnam War as an observer.
>>>>
>>>>   You're slightly wrong about his final rank: he was a brigadier general.
>>>>   Or so says Wikipedia anyway. A brigadier general is a 1-star general,
>>>>   not a 2-star. But he did reach the highest rank of any actor in American
>>>>   military history.
>>>   
>>>   He was a brigadier when he retired but they promoted him to major general on
>>>   his retirement date so the official record shows him at the higher rank
>>> (which
>>>   also means a higher military pension). This is not uncommon for officers who
>>>   retire in good standing. My own father retired at one rank higher than he
>>> was
>>>   when he put in his papers.
>>>   
>> Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that practice.
>>
>>>>   Many other actors served in the world wars. Humphrey Bogart served in
>>>>   WWI in the Navy and a bit of shrapnel hit him in the face during an
>>>>   enemy bombardment causing his speech to change slightly to what we all
>>>>   know from his films. However, Wikipedia says this account is disputed
>>>>   and several other incidents are cited as possible sources of the scar on
>>>>   his lip.
>>>>
>>>>   Eddie Albert (Oliver from Green Acres) served in the Navy in WWII and
>>>>   earned a Bronze Star for actions in the Pacific.
>>>>
>>>>   Clark Gable served on bombers over Europe during WWII as a gunner.
>>>>   Hitler valued Gable above all other actors and offered a reward to
>>>>   anyone who could bring him Gable unscathed if he happened to crash or
>>>>   jump from a plane during a mission. Apparently, Hitler was fascinated by
>>>>   Gable's EARS and wanted to study them closely. As I understand it,
>>>>   Gable's ears raised some interesting questions about Hitler's racial
>>>>   theories but I don't know any further details.
>>>>
>>>>   This is only a very few of the actors who served in war. There was a lot
>>>>   of social pressure on all men, including actors, to serve in WWII. A few
>>>>   actors escaped military service when their studios deemed them too
>>>>   valuable to risk and got exemptions for them but most served if they
>>>>   were physically able.
>>>   
>>>   And of course Elvis was drafted and served two years in Germany.
>>>   
>>>   
>> Ditto for Johnny Cash, who was in the Air Force, also in Germany.
>> Jimi Hendrix served in the 101st Airborne during his military service,
>> although he was discharged early(?) because he was a lousy shot and was
>> not thought to have the makings of a good soldier.
> 
> Can you imagine any of our current crop of celebrities going willingly to war
> to fight for the nation? There may be some but none leap readily to mind. The
> only ones I can think of are now too old to serve.

I can imagine that increased cynicism has befallen most any broad swath 
of society over recent decades.