Everett Wilson Stewart (July 18, 1915 – February 10, 1982) was an American

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with 7.83 aerial victories and 1.5 ground victories.The Hall of Valor Project: Everett Wilson Stewart
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Early life

Stewart was born on July 18, 1915, in

Talmage, Kansas Talmage is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 78. History In 1887, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail ...

. He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant through the Army ROTC program at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

on May 30, 1938, and then enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the

U.S. Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

on June 23, 1938.

Military career

World War II

Stewart completed pilot training, was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Army Air Corps, and was awarded his pilot wings on May 26, 1939. His first assignment was flying

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...

and

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

fighters with the 79th Pursuit Squadron of the

20th Pursuit Group The 20th Operations Group (20 OG) is the flying component of the 20th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is a successor organization of the 20th ...

Moffett Field Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an Local government in California#Counties, unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County, California, United States, ...

and Hamilton Field in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, from June 1939 to February 1941, followed by service in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and on

Midway Islands Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

until September 1942. He quickly rose to the rank of squadron commander. After the

Battle of Midway The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...

, he was given command of the

328th Fighter Squadron 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

of the

352nd Fighter Group The 352nd Fighter Group was a unit of the Eighth Air Force that was located in the European Theater of Operations, United States Army, European Theater of Operations during World War II. The unit served as bomber escort, counter-air patrols, and ...

, which was sent to England in mid-1943. Flying the

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

, he was credited with the shared destruction of 2 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus 1 damaged. In January 1944, he was transferred to the

355th Fighter Group 355th may refer to: Aviation * 355th Fighter Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit * 355th Fighter Wing, a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force * 355th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a U.S. Ai ...

. He became the group's commanding officer in November 1944 to February 1945. During this time, Stewart destroyed 7 enemy aircraft in the air with 1 probable and 2 damaged, while flying the

P-51 Mustangs The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in January 1945 and given command of the famous

4th Fighter Group The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force: ...

from February 1945 to the end of the war. While in command of 4th FG, he was credited in damaging a jet powered

Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...

in March 1945. After his serving with 4th Fighter Group, he was assigned to the Occupation duty at Headquarters

U.S. Air Forces in Europe The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Wiesbaden, Germany Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, from September 1945 to March 1946. During

, Stewart was credited with the destruction of 7.83 enemy aircraft in aerial combat, 1 probable, 4 damaged, and 1.5 on the ground while strafing enemy airfields.

Post war

Stewart served as an Operations and Training Staff Officer at

Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

, from May to December 1946, and then at

Tyndall Field Tyndall (the original spelling, also Tyndale, "Tindol", Tyndal, Tindoll, Tindall, Tindal, Tindale, Tindle, Tindell, Tindill, and Tindel) is the name of an English family taken from the land they held as tenants in chief of the Kings of Engla ...

, from December 1946 to August 1947. After completing Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Stewart served as an instructor and director with the Air Tactical School at Tyndall Air Force Base, from June 1948 to October 1950, followed by service as a director at Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell Air Force Base from October 1950 to July 1951. He attended

Air War College The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operation ...

from July 1951 to June 1952, and then served with Headquarters

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

until August 1953. His next assignment was on the Joint Intelligence Group in the Office of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

in the Pentagon from August 1953 to August 1956, followed by National Defense College in Canada from September 1956 to July 1957. Stewart was Vice Commander of the

30th Air Division The 30th Air Division (30th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, assigned to Tenth Air Force, being stationed at Sioux City Municipal Airport, Iowa. It was inactivated on ...

Willow Run Air Force Station Willow Run Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force station that operated to the east of Willow Run Airport in Michigan. History In 1951, the United States Air Force exercised a right of return to Willow Run and established Willow Ru ...

, from August 1957 to January 1959, Deputy for Operations for the

37th Air Division The 37th Air Division (37th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command at Goose Air Force Base, Labrador, Canada It was inactivated on 30 June 1970. History Strategic Air Command Es ...

and then the 30th Air Division at Truax Field, from January 1959 to May 1960, and then Vice Commander of the 30th Air Division, also at Truax Field, from May to October 1960. He served on the staff with

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander ...

Louveciennes, France Louveciennes () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, between Versailles and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and adjacent to Marly-le-Roi. Population ...

, from October 1960 to September 1962, and then served as Senior Air Force Advisor to the 136th Air Defense Wing at USNAS Dallas, from October 1962 to October 1964. His final assignment was at

McConnell Air Force Base McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States., effective 2007-12-20 The airbase was named in ...

. Stewart retired from the Air Force on February 1, 1966.

Later life

Stewart died of a heart condition on February 10, 1982, and is buried at Restland Memorial Park in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

Aerial victory credits

::::SOURCES: ''Air Force Historical Study 85: USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II''

Awards

During his lengthy career, Stewart earned many decorations, including:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Everett 1915 births 1982 deaths American World War II flying aces Aviators from Kansas Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) United States Air Force officers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II People from Abilene, Kansas