The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Service Reflections of RM3 Sidney Weinstein, U.S. Coast Guard (1942-1946)

Service Reflections of RM3 Sidney Weinstein, U.S. Coast Guard (1942-1946)

I was in high school at the time of Pearl Harbor. I had never heard of Pearl Harbor and didn’t know where it was. That was true for many of my friends, but we sure found out quickly. We all became Gung Ho and were ready to enlist; however, we had a couple of months left before graduation, so I opted to finish school. Many of my friends did enlist, going into the US Army Air Corps to become pilots. That was my desire also, but my father said “NO.” He was in the First World War, captured by the Germans, and gassed. He was shot, and he lost three fingers on his left hand.

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Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen

Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen

Twenty-five years after her passing, Audrey Hepburn remains the most beloved of all Hollywood stars, known as much for her role as UNICEF ambassador as for films like Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Several biographies have chronicled her stardom, but none has covered her intense experiences through five years of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. According to her son, Luca Dotti, "The war made my mother who she was."  Audrey Hepburn's war included participation in the Dutch...

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Maj Clark Gable, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1947)

Maj Clark Gable, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1947)

Clark Gable, of the U.S. Army Air Forces between 1942 and 1947, is best known as the ‘King of Hollywood’, the womanizing man’s man with a filmography of over 60 productions. However, he had a passion for flying combat missions and defied death in World War II. Born William Clark Gable in 1901, his father Will was an oil-well driller living in Cadiz, Ohio. Baptized Catholic, his mother Adeline died when he was just ten months old, and his father refused to raise him in the faith. Gable’s father...

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BG James “Jimmy” Stewart, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1968)

BG James “Jimmy” Stewart, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1968)

One of the film's most beloved actors, Jimmy Stewart, made more than 80 films in his lifetime. He was known for his everyman quality, which made him both appealing and accessible to audiences. Stewart got his first taste of performing as a young man. At Princeton University, he was a member of the Triangle Club and acted in shows they produced. Stewart earned a degree in architecture in 1932, but he never practiced the trade. Instead, he joined the University Players in Falmouth,...

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