Veterans Day 2026: Gratitude, Respect, and Remembrance

Dear KMHS Members - Wishing you all the very best this Veterans Day!

This past weekend, I went to see the new biopic Jimmy, about actor Jimmy Stewart’s experience as a B-24 pilot with the 445th and how that experience affected his acting career after he returned home. It’s a very good movie focused on a personally defining chapter in the life of one of America’s most famous and beloved veterans.

Although the 445th Bomb Group isn’t mentioned, the Tibenham base is referred to often throughout the film. The movie also depicts Stewart’s command of the 703rd Squadron and the kinship he develops with his men.

Captain Stewart was clearly affected by the loss of men and the horrors of combat. The film depicts what most combat veterans experienced, both physically and emotionally—something our Kassel Mission members certainly knew firsthand.

To me, the movie’s message was that Stewart’s act of faithfully serving his country was likely his most “challenging performance” among his more than 80 films. In real combat, there’s no perfected script to follow. Combat is vastly different from performing on a studio set. In combat, there are no second takes.

Our connection to the Kassel Mission gives us, as KMHS members, a different perspective on Veterans Day than most people have. It’s not just a day to express gratitude. For us descendants, it can also be a day to recognize our inherited responsibility: telling the Kassel Mission story, sharing the costs of war that veterans and their families endure, and affirming the value of remembrance and reconciliation. As a KMHS member, you are doing just that!

We honor the memory of our relatives and close family friends who served in the 445th. And, although none achieved Captain Stewart’s fame, they shared a bond with him as members of the 445th Bomb Group and the 8th Air Force. Our Kassel Mission heroes gave outstanding performances in their own roles too.

Go see Jimmy …you will truly relate! Tell us what you think!

This Veterans Day, we honor each Kassel Mission participant, all the members of the 445th and all who have served and sacrificed—with gratitude, respect and remembrance.

Jim Bertram
President, KMHS