Direct Hit

Maine's U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith is in close touch with U.S. military reserve programs. Commissioned after World War II, she is now, at 59, a lieutenant colonel in the WAF reserve. Her administrative assistant, William C. Lewis Jr., is an ardent Air Force reservist ("about 90 days' " training in the past twelve months). He was passed over for promotion from colonel to brigadier general last spring--despite the Senator's persistent efforts on his behalf. Last week, when the promotions of eight other reserve colonels came up for approval by the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Smith quickly zoomed in to skip-bomb the biggest target in sight: lanky Cinemactor James Stewart, 49.

Lieut. Colonel Smith admired Colonel Stewart's fine World War II combat record* and his ability as an actor. But why, with 1,900 other colonels up for promotion, was Stewart advanced to one-star rank? Colonel Stewart, though he flies his own Cessna 310, had put in only 39 days of reserve training since World War II; yet he had been assigned to a key M-day billet as deputy director of operations at SAC headquarters. Lieut. General Emmett ("Rosie") O'Donnell, Air Force personnel boss, disagreed with the Senator. "Stewart has made a great contribution to the Air Force," he said. "We don't think we should promote people to general officer [merely] on the basis of a good attendance record." But Senator Smith was far from satisfied. As she saw it, Stewart's promotion was clearly a case of rewarding not the colonel but the glamorous male lead in Strategic Air Command. She grimly put her foot down, and out of senatorial courtesy the Senate committee passed over Colonel James Stewart, U.S.A.F.R. Vacationing in Nevada after a two-week active-duty tour in July with a B-52 outfit in Limestone, Me., Pilot Stewart landed smoothly. Said he: "I was very honored to receive the nomination by President Eisenhower and the Air Force. I intend to continue to do my best to fulfill my duty requirements as a reserve officer in the Strategic Air Command."

*Stewart rose from private to a much-decorated colonel in the Army Air Forces, flew 20 bombing missions over Germany, became commander of an Eighth Air Force Bi; wing.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.