Jimmy Stewart's struggle with PTSD

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NancyNGA

Well-known Member
Location
Georgia
I ran across this by accident and thought it might be of interest to someone. (Sometimes newpapers move their links, but you can probably Google it if you're interested.)

How Jimmy Stewart's agony in It's a Wonderful Life came from extreme PTSD he suffered after he lost 130 of his men as fighter pilot in WWII.

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"Actor Jimmy Stewart was haunted by his memories from his time in the Air Force and suffered from PTSD when he returned from World War II. Stewart wrestled with the guilt of killing civilians in bomb raids over France and Germany and felt responsible for the death of his comrades. He never talked about his struggles and bottled up his emotions, but they came out when acting parts he chose when he returned to Hollywood. He tapped into his emotional distress during filming of It's a Wonderful Life, where his character George Bailey unravels in front of his family. Stewart's anguish is laid bare for the first time in Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the fight for Europe, by author Robert Matzen."

Stewart refused to discuss his combat missions and remained aloof about his service until the end of his life. In 1976 he returned to Tibenham, England, where he spent four months as a squadron commander.

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Jimmy did a great service to his country. As a squadron commander, he had a lot on his plate; being responsible for the lives of
hundreds of flight crew members.


(He was NOT a fighter pilot; he flew B-17s (Heavy Bombers with a crew of 10 men.)

I speak from experience because I also was a bomber pilot in that same war.

However I did not harbor those same feelings; about killing the enemy folks. We HAD to win that war....and we did.

I knew many people were killed but couldn't think about it. I had a job to do and I did it.

I was merely driving the damned truck !
 

Mr. Stewart Goes to War


"Stewart’s draft number was 310, but though he was 6-foot-3, he weighed only 138 pounds. When the Army turned him down as too skinny, he started eating spaghetti twice a day, supplemented with steaks and milkshakes. At a second physical in March 1941, he still hadn’t gained quite enough weight to be eligible, but he talked the Army doctors into adding an ounce or two so he could qualify, then ran outside shouting to fellow actor Burgess Meredith: “I’m in! I’m in!”


"The night before he left for training, MGM threw a farewell party for its departing star. Most of the actresses present that evening kissed him goodbye, and Rosalind Russell wiped off the lipstick with her handkerchief and wrote each girl’s name on it. Stewart kept the hanky for good luck".
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Corporal James M. Stewart was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant at Moffett Field, Calif., on January 19, 1942. (National Archives)
 
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