7. Stewart’s character was prominently displayed in his military career
When James Stewart entered the US Army Air Force his salary from MGM was discontinued. He received his Army salary, beginning at $21 per month. From that meager amount, he continued to pay his agent 10%, sending $2.10 monthly. At the Academy Awards ceremony in February, 1942, he dressed in his uniform to present Best Actor Gary Cooper his award for his role in Sergeant York. His role for the Army Air Force first had him training pilots. Later he shifted to four-engine aircraft, flying bombers training bombardiers using the revolutionary Norden bombsight. After training in the B-17 near Boise, Idaho, Stewart requested combat duty.
In November 1943, Stewart, then with the rank of captain, led a group of 24 B-24H Liberator bombers to England, where they were assigned to the airfield at Tibenham. A measure of his fame at the time was a sardonic welcome broadcast from Berlin by the British traitor and Nazi propagandist Lord Haw-Haw. His first combat mission was a bombing raid on the German docks at Kiel. He became a popular officer with his men, and developed a reputation for taking care of them in the air and on the ground. By the end of 1943, Stewart commanded the four squadrons of the 445th Bomb Group to which he was assigned.