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Rob Riggle Questions Whether Today's Stars Would Match Jimmy Stewart's Wartime Sacrifice
In a new interview tied to the upcoming biopic «Jimmy,» Marine veteran and actor Rob Riggle says he would be surprised if a modern star of Jimmy Stewart's stature would walk away from a peak Hollywood career to serve in combat, as Stewart did in World War II.
Retired Marine officer and actor Rob Riggle says he doubts that a modern movie star at the height of his career would make the same wartime sacrifice that Jimmy Stewart did, leaving an Oscar-winning Hollywood career behind to fly combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe.
Riggle, who plays Colonel Terrill, Stewart's squadron commander and mentor, in the upcoming biopic «Jimmy,» spoke about the question during a recent interview. «I would be surprised if anybody made that same choice today, especially an actor of his status,» Riggle said. «You got to remember, he won an Academy Award before the war.»
Stewart enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in March 1941, just 28 days after winning the best actor Academy Award for his performance in the 1940 film «The Philadelphia Story.» He had tried to enlist in late 1940 but was initially rejected for being five pounds under the weight requirement for his 6-foot-3 frame. He deliberately gained the weight so he could reapply and join right after the Academy Awards.
Because he was already a licensed commercial pilot and a famous actor, the military first tried to keep Stewart stateside as a flight instructor and used him for publicity and March of Dimes promotional tours. He repeatedly requested overseas combat duty, appealing to his superiors to let him fly rather than serve in public relations.
His persistence paid off. Stewart was sent to England in late 1943 with the 445th Bombardment Group and went on to fly 20 official combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe as a command pilot, squadron commander and wing commander in B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. By the end of the war in 1945, he had risen from private to full colonel. His decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.
Riggle noted that many people may not grasp the danger Stewart accepted. «I think Jimmy went through a lot harder service than most with the flying over Germany, dropping bombs, having to make those sorties under tremendous stress and loss of his peers,» he said. «But I do think when you decide to serve your country, you're kind of writing a blank check with your life and limb.»
As a commander, Stewart carried the burden of sending young men into anti-aircraft fire and Luftwaffe attacks, and he witnessed heavy losses among his crews. Biographers and historians have documented that he suffered severe psychological trauma, including digestive problems, insomnia, nightmares, shakes and sweats. The formal clinical diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder was not established until 1980, decades after the war.
After returning to Hollywood, Stewart channeled that suppressed trauma into darker, more complex post-war roles, including his performance in the 1946 film «It's A Wonderful Life,» in which he played George Bailey, a banker experiencing a mental breakdown. Historians say those roles helped him process what he had been through. He went on to a successful career, built a family and continued serving in the Air Force Reserve for another two decades. Stewart died of a heart attack in 1997 at age 89.
Riggle drew on his own military experience for the role. He served in the Marine Corps for 23 years, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and deploying to Afghanistan, Albania, Liberia and Kosovo before retiring in 2013. «I myself was a lieutenant colonel so I know what it is to be in charge of a group of people,» he said. «I know the weight of leadership.»
