James C. Stewart Fighter Ace Collection

The James C. Stewart Fighter Ace Collection documents Lt. Col. Stewart's life in the military from his enlistment in 1943 to his retirement in 1966, and also includes a small amount of personal materials. The collection is separated into three series by format: Photographic materials, Textual materials, and Audiovisual materials.

Series I., Photographic material, is 1.8 cubic feet of approximately 1500 photographs, as well as negatives and slides. There are also two empty photograph albums, which previously housed some of the photographs in this collection. The albums were disassembled for preservation reasons prior to their arrival at the museum; it is unclear which photographs were in these two albums but they have been retained to show the original housing and the captions on the pages within the albums. Most of the photographs are black-and-white, with some color images. Sizes vary, ranging from 2x2" to 11x17". Many images have very brief captions or inscriptions, noting locations, names, and dates. Stewart seems to have been an avid photographer and took many of the photographs in this collection himself. In general, the photographs are organized by subject, with the subjects organized into roughly chronological order.

The bulk of the photographs is comprised of both group and individual portraits depicting the squadrons and pilots in the VIII Fighter Command during World War II. Squadrons featured include the 61st, 62rd, and 63rd Fighter Squadrons of the 56th Pursuit Group, as well as the individual pilots from within these squadrons. Other pilots and squadrons are also included, although appear to be unidentified as to which unit. Assorted military aircraft, both in flight and on the ground, are also included in the photographs. There is also a series of images of a Messerschmitt Me 210 being shot down by Stewart, his first aerial victory.

Other topics covered include cadet training, including the daily activities of cadets; aerial and scenic photographs of Europe, including Great Britain and France; souvenir images and photographic postcards from various locations, such as Paris, France, and of assorted aircraft; and casual photographs of military officers engaging in "R & R" [rest and relaxation] and sight-seeing in Europe and Asia. The collection also includes personal photographs of family and friends, as well as images from a 1961 air show in Farnborough (England). Please note that Folder 28 contains slides which feature erotic imagery and nudity.

Series II., Textual material, is approximately 1.55 cubic feet and is primarily comprised of official military records from the 1940s-1966. The documents in this series are organized according to type, and each type is organized roughly chronologically. The exception to this are the materials in Folders 9-12. The documents in these folders were removed from their original binding and the original reverse chronological order was retained.

Many of the documents are personnel records for Lt. Col. Stewart, including his flight record, some medical records, military orders and memos, and promotion letters. Also included are numerous documents related to the orders and activities of the various Air Force divisions Lt. Col. Stewart was active in. There is also a small amount of military-related ephemera, including maps of Europe, an undated cartoon titled "I can't understand it! My altimeter read 4300 ft.! The ground is where you hit it!", procedure and pilot check lists, and foreign paper currency. There is a small amount of personal documents, including Stewart's high school student record (1935-1937), a membership card for the Boy Scouts, assorted clippings about Stewart, and copies of birth certificates for Jacqueline Caye (Bossong) Stewart (New York) and James Clarence Stewart (California).

Also included is a scrapbook box that contains the contents, in original order, of the scrapbook kept by Lt. Col. Stewart's mother during and after World War II. The contents include clippings about wartime activities, Lt. Col. Stewart's letters home to his family, photographs, souvenir postcards, and news items related to the wedding of Lt. Col. Stewart and Jacqueline Bossong.

Series III., Audiovisual Materials, contains six films dating from around the late 1940s to early 1960s. The films range in length from around five minutes long to around 15 minutes. Three of these films contain travel footage of England, France, Hawaii, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. One contains home movies of the Stewart family holiday celebrations. Two of the films contain footage of strafing and aerial combat from World War II.

Digitized Materials: A large selection of the photographic and textual materials has been digitized from this collection. The audiovisual materials have also been digitized.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.