Julie Mayfield

[Judianna @Judianna]

For all the fans of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and Jimmy Stewart . . .

Just months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in “The Philadelphia Story,” Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II.

An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots.

Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted.

Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it.
Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit.
But his wartime service came at a high personal price.

In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being “flak happy,” today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally).

He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over.

As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up.”

In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The rest is history.

Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on film for potentially millions to see.

But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history.

When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight.”
This weekend, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, “It’s A Wonderful Life,” it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. We will always remember you!

Postscript:

While fighting in Europe, Stewart's Oscar statue was proudly displayed in his father’s Pennsylvania hardware store. Throughout his life, the beloved actor always said his father, a World War I veteran, was the person who had made the biggest impact on him.

Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and died in 1997 at the age of 89.
H/T @mustangmarine

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

@SherylCrow Here in KC to see you for my friend Michelle’s 50th Birthday!!

[Pope Francis – ARCHIVE @Pontifex266Arch]

This is the first #Easter message that I would offer you: it is always possible to begin anew, because there is a new life that God can awaken in us in spite of all our failures. From the rubble of our hearts, God can create a work of art.

[Pope Francis – ARCHIVE @Pontifex266Arch]

The culture of life is the heritage that Christians want to share with everyone. Every human life, unique and unrepeatable, is priceless. This must be courageously proclaimed ever anew through word and action.

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

#BarstoolBestBar #BarstoolWheel

[Pope Francis – ARCHIVE @Pontifex266Arch]

If you find it hard to pray, don’t give up. Be still; make space for God to come in; let Him look at you, and He will fill you with His peace. #Lent

[Sports in Kansas @sportsinkansas]

Seniors walked out of their high school for the last time without even knowing it. Prom, sports, graduation & the last couple months of experiences with the friends you grew up with. Hang in there seniors and hold on to all the great memories you did get to create in high school.

[C. S. Lewis @CSLewisDaily]

"In a perfect friendship…each member feels, in his secret heart, humbled before the rest. Sometimes he wonders what he is doing there among his betters. Especially when the whole group is together; each bringing out all that is best, wisest, or funniest in the others."
#CSLewis

[Patricia Heaton @PatriciaHeaton]

I know this is hard for you to grasp, but women of all kinds who are pro-science and anti-violence don’t believe that ending the life of your developing son or daughter in your womb is liberating or progressive. It’s tyrannical and barbaric.

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

@TeamYouTube Our YouTube tv still is not working... 2nd day

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

Twinning in Gregory community! #sjahoco2018 #sjakeepingfaith

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

Maddie trying to spill the tea on meme day...but that’s none of my business! #sjahoco2018

[SJA Tennis @TennisSja]

Sja wins the Mill valley JV tournament. Taylor Jarvis and Maddie Mayfield took 1st in #1 doubles
Megan Ward finished first 1st in #1 singles
Lexi Streeter and Avery Burwell finished 1st as well at #2 doubles and Olivia Vedock placed 2nd in #2 singles.

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

#iLoveOTF

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

Mother/Daughter night at #HCNKC #LancoMusic!!!

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

@Rose19833 @StefMacWilliams This is beautiful! No human person or church is perfect but the community and truth faith you are joining is beautiful. Please continue to share your journey. I’m sure it will help others

[Julie Mayfield @juliemayfield]

I just voted for Devonte' Graham for the @Wendys #WoodenAward. Cast your vote here! https://t.co/Tg5ET3r5aB

[Fr. Scott Wallisch @_frscott]

Sorry media, but despite your best efforts to downplay and ignore 45 years of marching for life, hundreds of thousands of YOUNG PEOPLE have still come to DC for the March for Life because they know Love Saves Lives.
(Rock Chalk Jayhawk)
#WhyWeMarch

[Pope Francis – ARCHIVE @Pontifex266Arch]

The more we are rooted in Christ, the more we rediscover interior peace, even in the midst of daily challenges.

[Pope Francis – ARCHIVE @Pontifex266Arch]

May the wisdom of God help us to know how to welcome and accept those who think and act differently from us.