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40 Insights into the Lives of Famous War Veterans

Khalid Elhassan July 13, 2019 26 min

27. Jimmy Stewart, Star and Vet

James “Jimmy” Stewart excelled in portraying middle class American men, diffident and resolute of character, as they struggled with crises. He appeared in over 80 movies, including notable performances in the Christmas standby It’s a Wonderful Life, as well as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Vertigo, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. He was nominated for five Oscars, and won Best Actor for his role in 1940’s Philadelphia Story. He got another Oscar in 1985 for Lifetime Achievement. Less known about him is that he was a WWII vet.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.