Name: Richard W. Stewart
Date of Birth: 6/14/19
Branch of Service: Air Force
Dates of Service: 1942 to October, 1945
Location of Military Service: England and France |
Mr. Stewart served in the 8th Air Force in the 86th Air Depot Group, 22nd
Repair Squadron during World War II. He attained the rank of Staff
Sergeant. His main job during the war was to repair the electrical
systems on the planes and bombers that flew missions over Europe. He
was stationed at Chilbolton Air Force Base in England and also in St Dizer,
France. On June 4th and 5th, his squadron had pre-flight checks and
on June 6th, he heard Churchill make the
announcement on the radio that
the invasion of Normandy
had
begun. He landed on
Omaha
Beach 59 days after D-Day. They climbed the cliffs and walked 3
miles to Normandy. He stayed 3 weeks at LeMans, France. He then went on
to Reims, Paris from September, 1944 to November, 1944. There he met
a French family, Helen and Bernard Cemetrey and their son, Christian.
He was invited to dinner several times. While in Paris, he saw all
of the famous landmarks --
Arc de Triomphe,
Eiffel Tower, and the
Palace at
Versailles. From there, he went to St Dizer, which was about 60
or so miles east of Paris, and stayed there until the end of the war.
When the war in Europe ended, he was given a 30-day leave. He was
scheduled to go on to the Pacific, but the war ended with the dropping of the
Atomic Bomb and he was discharged at Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio,
on October 22, 1945. |
|
