According to a story circulating on the internet, Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of his day, voluntarily enlisted in the U.S Army mere months after winning an Academy Award for best actor.
When asked why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight.”
Already an accomplished private pilot, Stewart became a U.S. Army Air Corps aviator and an officer. As one might imagine, the Army recognized his star power and used him in recruiting films, sent him to rallies and had him train younger pilots.