Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe

by Robert Matzen
@RobertMatzen

It’s a Wonderful Life was the first motion picture Jimmy Stewart made after returning home from World War 2, where he had participated in 20 often-brutal combat missions over Germany and France. When he left Hollywood in March 1941, Jimmy Stewart was America’s boy next door movie star and a recent Academy Award winner. He left all that behind to join the United States Army Air Corps and fulfill his family mission to serve his country—only to face obstacle after obstacle from both Hollywood and Washington. Finally he made his way to the European Theater, where several near-death experiences and the loss of men under his command took away his youthful good looks. The war finally won, he returned home with millions of other veterans to face an uncertain future, suffering what we now know as PTSD. That is the man who embarked on It’s a Wonderful Life.

Interview with the Author

New Books Network
Robert Matzen, “Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe” (GoodKnight Books, 2016)
10/24/16         65 min

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The Art of Manliness
#291: The Untold Story of Jimmy Stewart’s WWII Service
3/30/17       42 min

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PA Books on PCN
“Mission: Jimmy Stewart & the Fight for Europe” with Robert Matzen
1/19/17         59 min

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The WW2 Podcast
95 – Jimmy Stewart
7/15/19          39 min

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True Stories of Tinseltown
I talk to author Robert Matzen about his book Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe. We talk his love of A List actresses too..
8/23/20        64 min

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