I’ve only seen It’s a Wonderful Life once or POSSIBLY twice in my life, so maybe I shouldn’t blame myself for not hearing about Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart, even if I had of course known of Hollywood’s Jimmy Stewart. It turns out that George Bailey aka Mr. Smith aka Jimmy got drafted early on in WWII, got rejected for being underweight, then went on a weight-gaining regimen until they let him enlist in the Air Force, where he stayed…for the next 27 years. He didn’t retire until 1968, a couple years after flying as an observer in a bomber over Vietnam.
And so the latest of the many plaques mounted at the base of the controversial cross at the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial honors Brigadier General James Maitland Stewart, not Jimmy.
The Navy Band Southwest performed at the dedication ceremony for Stewart. I hadn’t known that musicians get their own specific rankings, as I learned from MU1 (Musician First Class) Evan Vis, a fine euphonium player.
More photos here.
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