16. Jimmy Stewart was one of the true Hollywood greats, but he was also a skilled aviator, winning numerous awards for his wartime bravery.
For around 60 years, James Stewart dominated Hollywood. The actor starred in countless movies, many of them timeless classics. For his work, Stewart received an Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1985. To this day, he is still regarded as one of the greatest leading men of all time, known above all for his portrayal of the American ‘everyman’. But Stewart was far from an everyman, as his time flying fighter aircraft during the Second World War shows. Indeed, as well as being a Hollywood icon, he was also an aviation ace, picking up several major awards and commendations along the way.
Stewart earned his private pilot’s license in 1935, with a commercial licence following three years later. When the United States entered the war, Stewart was drafted into the Army. After some delays while he worked to build his weight up to the required level, Stewart was allowed in, and soon transferred to flying duty. At first, he was given logistics missions to fly and was also used as a recruitment tool. But by 1944, the actor was flying combat missions over Germany. For his service, Stewart received the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and then the Presidential Medal of Freedom.