1930 – Alamo, Nevada, United States
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At the top, from left to right. Artimesia Stewart(mother of Dee), Mishie, a sister (married Earl Leavitt), Lorraine Webb Stewart,married Dell). Carlyle Wilcox, married to Jesma( Dee's older sister) Jesma is holding baby Jack (John) Wilcox and Wilson Stewart a brother to Dee. Bottom row, Dee, Marba Rose Wilcox, Cherill Wilcox and Lyle Wilcox. --- Thomas Dee STEWART can be seen in the front left of the picture. He was 11 years old at the time. Photo taken in 1930 at the old house in Alamo. Provided by Jan STEWART.
1943 – Luke Field, Phoenix, AZ
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This photograph is assumed to have been taken at the graduation of Thomas Dee STEWART's Flying Cadet Class 43-H in 1943
Serial No 756124
2nd Lt 402 AFF Ftr Sq WWII NV
Lt Thomas D Stewart 402FS 370FG
US Army Air Force
Flying Cadet Class 43-H (Luke Field,Phoenix,AZ,Advanced Pilot-Single Engine -Unconfirmed)
15-05-44 42-67890 P-38J.402FS/370FG.Accident(KMAC) at Crux Easton
440515 P-38J 42-67890 402FS 370FG 406 9 KMAC 5 Stewart, Thomas D ENG Cruxeaston
Alamo, Lincoln, Nevada
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Thomas Dee Stewart (Grave) - Alamo Cemetery, Alamo, Lincoln, Nevada --- Find A Grave Memorial# 14313133. A copy of the Headstone application can be found here: http://interactive.ancestry.com/2375/40050_2421401757_0026-01951/886646?backurl=http%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fcgi-bin%2fsse.dll%3fdb%3dqgheadstoneapps%26h%3d886646%26ti%3d0%26indiv%3dtry%26gss%3dpt%26ssrc%3dpt_t38745635_p19277790875_kpidz0q3d19277790875z0q26pgz0q3d32770z0q26pgplz0q3dpid&ssrc=pt_t38745635_p19277790875_kpidz0q3d19277790875z0q26pgz0q3d32770z0q26pgplz0q3dpid&backlabel=ReturnRecord
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The 402FS patch . It depicts a 4 bladed propellor piercing a skull and was designed during their training when the Squadron thought they would be operating the P-47 Thunderbolt (4 bladed prop). As it turned out, they finished up with the P-38 (three bladed prop).
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A squadron of P-38s presumably on their way to a ground attack mission.
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Another example of the aircraft Thomas Dee Stewart was learning to fly.
1944
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This picture taken in May or June 1944 shows a line of P-38s carrying out a magneto check before takeoff.
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A top-down view of the aircraft, presumably taken from a higher altitude bomber that was being escorted.
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An example of the aircraft Thomas Dee Stewart was learning to fly.
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Another photo of the 402 FS (Fighter Squadron) Dispersal area at Andover.
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"Peg O' My Heart II" was 1st Lt Cyril "Cy" Bernard Coenen's aircraft. He served with the 402FS at Andover and was in the unit that fateful day for Thomas Dee Stewart. Cy become the Squadron Historian and I've had the pleasure of corresponding with his son, Mike, regarding the accident, etc.
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This is the 402 FS (Fighter Squadron) Dispersal area at Andover. This was on the southwest side of the field close to the railway line.
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This is a recent picture the BOQ (Basic Overnight Quarters) at Andover. This is where the pilots slept in preparation for their missions.
Below is a web link to some history on the 402 FS (Fighter Squadron).
http://daveg4otu.tripod.com/airfields/402FS.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/402d_Fighter_Squadron
Here is aviation safety database results for Thomas Dee Stewart's accident.
http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=108318
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbaat.asp?theAT=p-38&Submit3=Go&offset=900
This is one of the flight training videos for the P-38. No doubt Thomas saw this as part of his training. Note that this is one of the first color films created during the war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq_2UmiCoJk
This is a book I purchased to learn more about the accident and the 370th Fighter Groups history.
http://www.amazon.com/370th-Fighter-Schiffer-Military-History/dp/0764317792/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370915330&sr=8-1&keywords=the+370th+wwii
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This is the back of the photograph of Thomas Dee Stewart's girlfriend, Carmen NIELSON.
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This a photograph of Thomas Dee Stewart's girlfriend, Carmen NIELSON. It was found in his wallet when the crash site was excavated. In 1946, Carmen went on to marry Thomas' next older brother, Willard "Tex" Levi STEWART. The following is Kit Lamb's [Carmen's Daughter] recollection, "The picture is my mother's high school senior photo. I was surprised as I had thought the picture was of the dance photo with Mom [Carmen NIELSON] and Dee [Thomas Dee STEWART]. Dad [Willard "Tex" Levi STEWART] saw that photo (the dance) on Dee's dresser and asked him who it was. Dee said he wanted Dad to meet Carmen who was his good friend Phil Nielson's sister. They did meet before Dee died and while he was in England at Aunt Marba's [Marba STEWART] house in Salt Lake. My mother was totally unimpressed with my dad."
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This a photograph of David Smith. He was the Aircraft Archaeologist responsible for excavating Thomas Dee Stewart's crash site in the early 1970's. Among the wreckage was found the following items belonging to Thomas; Dog Tags, Pilot's Wings, a photograph of Carmen NIELSON (Girlfriend). His brother also assisted with the excavation and found the Graduation Ring from Pilot Academy which belonged to Thomas.
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This is a photograph of Paul Smith and his daughter Freyja. Paul is the person whom I've been corresponding with. He requested a high-res photo of Thomas, which I supplied, and later sent me the Graduation Ring from Pilot Academy. He is the son of David Smith and was present as a young man (~ 5 yrs old) when his father first investigated the site.
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43-H is the Pilot Academy graduating class number, 1943 Class H
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Surrounding the stone's bottom are the letters "U S A A F"
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Surrounding the stone's top are the words "PILOT OFFICER"
1943 – Luke Field, Phoenix, AZ
2nd Lieutenant Thomas Dee Stewart graduated from Flying Cadet Class 43-H on Luke Field, Phoenix, AZ. It appears his training was Advanced Pilot-Single Engine in the Army Air Force.
This would likely be what is now know as Luke Air Force Base on 14185 Falcon Street in Glendale, AZ 85309
"During World War II, Luke Field was the largest fighter training base in the Army Air Forces, graduating more than 12,000 fighter pilots from advanced and operational courses earning the nickname, “Home of the Fighter Pilot.”
The base was under the control of the 37th Flying Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine), Western Flying Training Command, AAF Flying Training Command. During the years of World War II, more than 17,000 pilots trained at Luke Field, making it the largest single engine advanced flying training school in the U.S. More than a million hours of flying were logged, primarily in theAT-6 Texan, along with s...
[ Read more » ]
15 MAY 1944 – Crux Easton, Hampshire, England
The 370th Fighter Group in World War II
In Action over Europe with the P-38 and P-51
By Jay Jones
Page 39
Two pilots in the 402nd were killed on May 15. Lt. William E. Evers was giving a new pilot, Second Lt. Thomas D. Stewart, an orientation flight. They were probably playing around in a mock dogfight and had a mid-air collision. Evers bailed out of his P-38 but struck the plane’s horizontal stabilizer and was killed. Stewart was pinned in his P-38 and rode it into the ground. Lt. Evers was one of the original members of the group and was a “West Pointer.” He was married and left his new bride back in Massachusetts. Lt. Stewart, a Las Vegas native, had been with the squadron for only six days.
There was an army regulation that required guards to be posted at crash sites. The 402nd sent out a group of men, including Stg. Wallace Carson and Sgt. Harold Berquist, for the grisly duty of guarding the Evers and Stewart cras...
[ Read more » ]
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The stone is a Red Garnet.
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Note the initials T.D.S. within the band. This is no doubt the initials for Thomas Dee STEWART. This ring was buried in the aircraft wreckage until 1973. The aircraft archaeologist responsible was unable to reach the STEWART family at the time. The ring was recently returned about 2 months ago.
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It appears that Josten has been making graduation rings for some time!
11 JUL 2013 – West Jordan, UT, USA
This is a work in progress and is a labor of love. I have thoroughly enjoyed the research, education, and closeness I've felt to a family member whom I have never known.
Thomas Dee Stewart's photograph sat on my parents fireplace mantle while I was growing up. I can remember seeing it and having some curiosity since ~ 1984. My Mother wasn't able to tell me much about her Uncle, other than there was a training accident. I've felt curious, since I was a child, about this man, what he stood for, what he did, and what happened to him.
In May of 2012, through a chance encounter, I was led to Paul Smith, son of Aircraft Archaeologist, David Smith, in England. In ~ 1973 David and his brother, Fred, along with Paul excavated the crash site wherein they found some of Dee's personal effects.
This connection all came as a result of my Cousin, Kelly Crockett, having uploaded a small photo of Dee to the Find-A-Grave website for Thomas. Later, Paul requested a high...
[ Read more » ]
Crash Report
RESTRICTED
Accident # 44-5-15-515
War Department
A.A.F. Form #14
Stewart, Thomas D. 0-756124 2nd Lt
Assigned: 1X AF 1X TAC 370th Fighter Group 402nd Fighter Squadron US AAF Station Andover.
Original rating: Pilot 10/1/43 Present rating: Pilot 10/1/43 Instrument rating: None.
First Pilot Hours:
This type: 83:00 Instrument time last 6 months: 2:00
This model: 10:00 Instrument time last 30 days: 0:00
Last 90 days: 41:00 Night time last 6 months: 2:00
Total: 323:40 ...
[ Read more » ]
Alamo, Lincoln, Nevada
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This is the final resting place of Thomas Dee STEWART. This image was found on Findagrave.com at: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=14313133
Lt. Evers and Stewart took off from the runway at R.A.F. Andover. Their aircrafts travelled ~ 11.9 miles north west and crashed ~ 1.4 Miles apart from each other.
Thomas Dee Stewart's Crash Site was located at:
Latitude:
51°18'42.11"N
Longitude:
1°22'19.03"W
William Evers' Crash Site was located at:
Latitude:
51°18'54.19"N
Longitude:
1°23'53.01"W
R.A.F. Andover Airfield
Latitude:
51°12'38.88"N
Longitude:
1°31'43.64"W
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200021184799181094986.0004e14551496f0d6d23d&msa=0