From Private to General- What a country!

[ragbag]

I met a man yesterday at the yearly Castle Air Base Car Show. This year the classics were arranged under the wings of all the historic aircraft which is quite a show unto itself. If any of you folks love aircraft, put this spot on your list. Wonderful place to visit. Anyway ,I was checking out a Chinook helicopter and a man was there staring at it and we greeted each other. He told me his son had piloted that aircraft exclusively, the one in front of us on display at the site. He told me his son was amounting to nothing early on and joined the Army . He turned out to be good around aircraft and worked his way into O.C.S. became a pilot and flew chinooks. Later he switched to the Air Force and fighters. He told me he had done many tours in Afgan. and had just been promoted to a one star General stationed in Germany. Wow! The story was worth my ticket yesterday. Stories like this should be on our nightly news. God bless this country and the freedoms these men give us. You just never know about a kid. Steer them well.

[Morlok]

Awesome story! The news makes it seem like the world is falling apart, and everyone is out to get us. I agree, stories like this should be on the news. If the media would focus on the good, and not the bad...even for a few days...it may change the minds of millions.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[empireguns]

one of my favorite stories is Jimmy Stewart who served his country for 27 years but made sure there was little publicity about it. Great American. He also conned his way into bombing mission to Germany and later did Arc light flights into N. Vietnam. Was not a "In the rear with the gear guy"

 

In 1940, Jimmy Stewart was drafted into the United States Army, but ended up being rejected due to being five pounds under the required weight, given his height (at the time he weighed 143 pounds). Not to be dissuaded, Stewart then sought out the help of Don Loomis, who was known to be able to help people add or subtract pounds. Once he had gained a little weight, he enlisted with the Army Air Corps in March of 1941 and was eventually accepted, once he convinced the enlisting officer to re-run the tests.

Initially, Stewart was given the rank of private; by the time he had completed training, he had advanced to the rank of second lieutenant (January of 1942). Much to his chagrin, due to his celebrity status and extensive flight expertise (having tallied over 400 flight hours before even joining the military), Stewart was initially assigned to various “behind the lines” type duties such as training pilots and making promotional videos in the states. Eventually, when he realized they were not going to ever put him in the front line, he appealed to his commanding officer and managed to get himself assigned to a unit overseas.

In August of 1943, he found himself with the 703rd Bombardment Squadron, initially as a first officer, and shortly thereafter as a Captain. During combat operations over Germany, Stewart found himself promoted to the rank of Major. During this time, Stewart participated in several uncounted missions (on his orders) into Nazi occupied Europe, flying his B-24 in the lead position of his group in order to inspire his troops.

For his bravery during these missions, he twice received the Distinguished Flying Cross; three times received the Air Medal; and once received the Croix de Guerre from France. This latter medal was an award given by France and Belgium to individuals allied with themselves who distinguished themselves with acts of heroism.

By July of 1944, Stewart was promoted chief of staff of the 2nd Combat Bombardment wing of the Eighth Air Force. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, becoming one of only a handful of American soldiers to ever rise from private to colonel within a four year span.

After the war, Stewart was an active part of the United States Air Force Reserve, serving as the Reserve commander of Dobbins Air Reserve Base. On July 24, 1959, he attained the rank of brigadier general (one star general).

During the Vietnam War, he flew (not the pilot) in a B-52 on a bombing mission and otherwise continued to fulfill his duty with the Air Force Reserve. He finally retired from the Air Force on May 31, 1968 after 27 years of service and was subsequently promoted to Major General (two star general).