hope for the heroes: When Hollywood Had Heroes: What Got Jimmy Stewart Through 20 Combat Missions

Share

Report Abuse

4/26/12 10:11 PM

Next Blog

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

AS HEARD ON CNN RADIO

When Hollywood Had Heroes: What Got Jimmy Stewart

Through 20 Combat Missions
The Golden Era: A Time When
Hollywood Was Patriotic and
Actors--Gasp!-- Read the Bible

The oft-quoted maxim, "They don't

make them like the used to" surely
must apply to my man Jimmy who
wasand ishands down, my
favorite actor in the whole wide
world. As someone else once said,
"He was a prince of a man."
In fact, I always vowed that the day
Jimmy Stewart died would be the
day I'd wear black for a week. I was
Jimmy, my main squeeze

PAGES

completely serious. Unfortunately, I

Home

was on an outdoor adventure travel

About Us

writing assignment in Washington state when Jimmy Stewart slipped the surly bonds of earth,

About the Bloggers: Bios

and I doubt my then-editor would have taken too kindly to my sending photos of myself dressed

Media

in black hiking gear.

But I digress. My point here is that Jimmy Stewart was a war veteran. And not just any war
veteranbut a decorated one who served his country with great distinction.
Just as important, he loved Godwithout embarrassment. Brig. Gen James Maitland Stewart
acknowledged his dependence upon his Supreme Commander during his time in the trenches
(well, more like the air ways since he was, after all, an Air Force Man) and, as such, found
particular comfort in the famous "Soldier's Psalm": Psalm 91.

HO P E F O R THE HE R OE S

Every soldier has a story, and we're telling

them: Stories of despair...of hope...of
redemption. If you have a story that needs to
be told, this is the place to share it. Our
mission is to...read more.
V IE W M Y C OM P LE TE P R O F ILE

Read the following letter Jimmy's dad wrote him letter that he felt so emotional about,
he was apparently unable to read it to his son aloud.
My dear Jim-Boy,

BECOME A FACEBOOK FAN

Soon after you read this letter, you will be on your way to the worst sort of danger. Jim, I am

http://hopefortheheroes.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-hollywood-had-heroes-what-got.html#more

Page 1 of 4

hope for the heroes: When Hollywood Had Heroes: What Got Jimmy Stewart Through 20 Combat Missions

4/26/12 10:11 PM

banking on the enclosed copy of the 91st Psalm. The thing that takes the place of fear and
worry is the promise of these words. I am staking my faith in these words. I feel sure that God
will lead you through this mad experience. I can say no more. I only continue to pray. Goodbye,
my dear. God continue to bless and keep you. I love you more than I can tell you.

- Dad

I think we can see why Jimmy's dad had a hard time reading these words to his son. How easy
it would have been for him to give in to deep worry and anxiety over the potential fate of his son
during war time. But clearly he didn't give into that spirit of fear. He chose to believe as I do,
that the "God had not given him a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind."
Where did that assurance come from?: God's Word, the same Word that promises us victory in
battle IF we "make the Most High your dwellingeven the LORD, who is my refuge."
It sure worked for Jimmy. He returned home a decorated war hero, unharmed, even though his
record included twenty combat missions! And the rest of the world benefitted by his father's
abiding faith because post-War, his son delightedand continues to delightmoviegoers around
the world with such great film classics as: It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, Rear Window, & The
Man Who Knew Too Much...to name just a few! (In fact, his performance in It's a Wonderful
Life was so compelling, it prompted then-President Harry S. Truman to say of Stewart, "If Bess
and I had a son, we'd want him to be just like Jimmy Stewart.")
During the height of the battle, Stewart said he learned to lean on the words of his tattered copy

MY BLOG LIST

A Soldier's Perspective
THE HEDY JANE POCKET PISTOL BY
HEIZER DEFENSE UNVEILED AT 2012
NRA SHOW - Heizer Defense LLC, a
firearms company producing a new
paradigm of pistols for the responsiblecitizen and law enforcement markets, will
unveil the Hedy J...
2 days ago

Wings for Women Conference for

Military Spouses
VA Services Primer - Enjoy this guest post
about navigating the Veterans
Administration by Douglas Karr; I learned a
lot and I hope you do too! The VA Plays a
Key Role in V...
6 months ago

ChristianMilitaryWives
Apple Picking Season 1 year ago

of Psalm 91.1
You and I can lean on those words to. After all, it's not just soldiers who face the battlefield
every day. The Bible tells us to "endure hardness like a good soldier" and to "fight the good
fight of faith" and finally this: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces
of wickedness in the heavenly places."
The Soldier's Psalm: Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

IMPORTANT WEBSITES: VIEWS

EXPRESSED HERE DO NOT NECESSARILY
REFLECT HOPE FOR THE HEROES'S.

A Soldier's Perspective. Run by soldierbloggers. Tackles hot issues.

Bridges for Healing: Campus Crusade Military
Ministry
Christian Military Wives
Hope for the Heroes
National Center for PTSD
PTSD Combat: Blog that focuses solely on the
combat-related variety of PTSD
Veterans National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Wounded Warrior Project

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare

and from the deadly pestilence.
PTSD-NEWS

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
http://hopefortheheroes.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-hollywood-had-heroes-what-got.html#more

Tetris may treat PTSD, flashbacks

Mother Nature Network
Flashbacks are considered by some to be the
central hub of symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), researchers
Lalitha Iyadurai and Ella James of Oxford
University explained to LiveScience. They are
invasive, unpredictable ...
Related Articles
Coming Home with PTSD; A Local Soldier's
Story
WROC-TV
"I was a soldier and I didn't want anyone to
Page 2 of 4

hope for the heroes: When Hollywood Had Heroes: What Got Jimmy Stewart Through 20 Combat Missions

but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling
even the LORD, who is my refuge10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

4/26/12 10:11 PM

know I had PTSD. I was well respected. I was

revered. And the last thing I wanted was that
tag." PTSD is a growing concern for the
Veteran's Administration. In 2011, the VA
treated almost half a million ...
Related Articles
Con receives disability for PTSD after serving
time
My Fox Boston
BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A
convicted Bay State killer convinced the Feds
that his 15 years behind bars were so stressful
that it gave him PTSD, clearing the way for
him to collect a $700-a-month taxpayer-funded
disability handout.
Potential remedy to relieve PTSD? Puppy love
The Province
By Jamie Hall, Postmedia News April 26, 2012
Richard Yuill, with his dog Halo, was
diagnosed with PTSD after serving in Bosnia
in 2000. EDMONTON There are mornings
when it's only the persistent nudging of Halo's
cold, wet nose that convinces Richard ...
powered by

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

BLOG ARCHIVE

November (1)
16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation

October (1)
August (1)

Read more about "The Soldier's Psalm"

July (1)

Read more about Jimmy Stewart's military career

April (1)

Video with Jimmy narrating about his war experiences

Read more about the power of the spoken Word to bring His promises into our lives!

March (5)
February (12)
January (1)

Blogged by: Jenni Keast

November (2)
October (2)

PO ST ED B Y H O PE FO R T H E H E RO E S A T 1 2 :5 1 P M
LAB E LS : CO P IN G , D E P R E S S I O N, F I L M , H E R O E S, H O L L Y W O O D , JE N NI KE AST, JI MMY STE WAR T , MI LI TAR Y ,
MI LI T A RY W I F E , W ORL D W A R I I

FOLLOWERS

Join this site

1 COMMENTS:

with Google Friend Connect

Members (8)

piperlori said...
Most actors can't transcend their own persona and desperate need for acceptance...hence,
they become actors, a.k.a people who have a desperate drive to become someone else in
order to feel good about themselves. I always had the feeling that Jimmy Stewart could have
done anything else in life and been just as comfortable in his own skin.

Already a member? Sign in

FEBRUARY 23, 2010 11:20 PM

http://hopefortheheroes.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-hollywood-had-heroes-what-got.html#more

Page 3 of 4

hope for the heroes: When Hollywood Had Heroes: What Got Jimmy Stewart Through 20 Combat Missions

4/26/12 10:11 PM

Post a Comment
Newer Post

Home

Older Post

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

http://hopefortheheroes.blogspot.com/2010/02/when-hollywood-had-heroes-what-got.html#more

Page 4 of 4