Today is the birthday of one of America’s greatest screen legends, the one and only Clark Gable!

Clark Gable was born 119 years ago today and, in honor of the birthday of this cinematic icon, we’re sharing a little blast from the past.   When in the past?  1945, to be exact.  In Combat America, Gable takes you on a tour through the world of aerial combat during World War II.  Gable joined the U.S. Army in 1943, shortly after the death of his wife, Carole Lombard.  (Lombard died in a plane crash.  She had been traveling across the country, working to build up support for the war effort.  Shortly after Lombard’s death, Gable’s co-star from Gone With The Wind, Leslie Howard, was also killed when the Germans shot down a plane in which he was traveling.)  Gable trained as an aerial gunner and flew five combat missions in 1943. Reportedly, Gable was ordered to stop flying because it was feared that the American morale at home would never recover if he was shot down.

Combat America was one of Gable’s contributions to the war effort, as well as a tribute to all the men who sacrificed their lives to defeat the Nazis.  Gable both narrates and appears on camera.

Incidentally, I know that Clark Gable will always be Rhett Butler to most people but my favorite Gable performance is his Oscar-winning work in It Happened One Night.  If I had been Claudette Colbert in that film, the Walls of Jericho would have come down very quickly.  Just saying.