Most people know Jimmy Stewart from It’s a Wonderful Life or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Fewer know that between those films, he flew 20 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe as a B-24 bomber pilot — and came home a Brigadier General.
A new film, JIMMY, opens in theaters on November 6, 2026. It tells that story.
What the film covers
JIMMY follows Stewart from the height of his Hollywood fame into the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was already a major star when he enlisted in 1941 — and he didn’t take a desk job. He flew combat missions with the 445th Bombardment Group out of England, rising to command a squadron and eventually a group. He flew through some of the most dangerous airspace of the war.
He came home with a Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and a French Croix de Guerre. He also came home with what we would now recognize as combat-related PTSD. He rarely talked about the war in public.
Why it matters to Post 72
Stewart was an American Legion member. He understood service not as a career move or a photo opportunity but as an obligation. He turned down a commission that would have kept him stateside. He asked to fly.
That kind of quiet, unassuming service is the model this post has always tried to follow. A film like this is worth your time — and worth bringing family to see.
Details
- Film: JIMMY
- In theaters: November 6, 2026
- Check local listings at your preferred theater for showtimes in the Utah Valley area.
If you go, we’d love to hear what you thought. Bring it up at the next post meeting.
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