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First Name: William

Last Name: Dyess

Birthplace: Albany, TX, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: U.S. Army Air Forces (1941 - 1947)



Middle Name: Edwin



Date of Birth: 09 August 1916

Date of Death: 22 December 1943

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel

Years Served:
William Edwin Dyess
'Ed'

   
Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)

Biography:

William Edwin Dyess
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Air Forces

William Edwin Dyess was born on 9 August 1916 in Albany, TX, the son of Richard T. and Hallie G. Dyess. At Albany High School he participated in football and track and field events, graduating in 1934. He graduated from John Tarleton Agricultural College in Stephenville, TX, in 1936.

After enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps, he received flight training at Kelly and Randolph Fields in San Antonio, TX. Upon completion of flight training, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps. In November 1941, Captain Dyess commanded the 21st Pursuit Squadron at Hamilton Field in San Francisco, and led the squadron to Nichols Field, Manila, Philippines.

In the Philippines, the 21st Pursuit Squadron was assigned to the 24th Pursuit Group which, together with the 19th Bomb Group, suffered heavy casualties during the beginning days of the war with Japan in December 1941. Flying P-40 Warhawks against superior Japanese planes, Dyess maintained his unit's morale in the face of staggering losses during the Battle of Bataan. When his squadron ran short of aircraft, Dyess became an infantry officer and served in that capacity during the Battle of the Points.

When the Bataan Peninsula fell to the Japanese, Dyess, as commanding officer, refused to abandon the members of his squadron who could not be evacuated. He gave his airplane ("Kibosh") to another fighter pilot, Lieutenant I.B. "Jack" Donaldson, for one last bombing run on 9 April, after which Jack was ordered to fly it to Cebu, where he crash landed. Dyess also supervised the evacuation of Philippine Army Colonel Carlos Romulo, a close friend of General Douglas MacArthur who survived the war and later served as President of the United Nations General Assembly.

On April 9, 1942, north of Mariveles, Bataan, Major Dyess was captured by the Japanese. The following morning, he and the others who surrendered at Bataan began the infamous Bataan Death March. He was imprisoned at Camp O'Donnell and then, from June to 26 October 1942, at Cabanatuan, where he and his men were routinely denied the rights of prisoners of war.

Major Dyess and others were transported by ship, the Erie Maru, to the Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao, arriving on 7 November. After two months of planning and preparation, Dyess, along with nine other American POWs, including Major Jack Hawkins, Austin Shofner, Samuel Grashio and two Filipino convicts, escaped from Davao on 4 April 1943. It was the only large-scale escape of Allied POWs from the Japanese in the Pacific Theater during World War II. MAJ Dyess and his group spent several weeks evading pursuit, then joined a group of guerrillas for several months. The group decided to split up and seven of the men joined organized guerrilla forces in northern Mindanao. Dyess and two others were evacuated to Australia in July 1943 by the U.S. Navy submarine Trout.

Upon reaching the United States in August, Major Dyess was thoroughly debriefed on his experiences as a POW by high-ranking military officers. In September 1943, he was sent to Ashford General Hospital in White Sulphur Springs, WV, to recuperate. From his hospital bed, Dyess worked with Chicago Tribune writer Charles Leavelle to tell the story of the atrocities and brutality he and his fellow POWs had experienced, and witnessed, while imprisoned by the Japanese. The U.S. Government, however, refused to release Dyess' story for publication on the grounds that it would infuriate the Japanese and risk the death of remaining American prisoners. The Tribune had to wait another four and a half months for the Secretary of War to all the story to be released.

Lieutenant Colonel Dyess was assigned to fly the P-38 Lightning fighter with the 337th Fighter Squadron, 329d Fighter Group, in preparation for a return to combat. On 22 December 1943, his aircraft, P-38G-10-LO Lightning, 42-13441, lost an engine during take-off from Grand Central Airport, and Dyess was killed trying to make an emergency landing in Burbank, CA.

The Dyess Story

The Chicago Tribune finally received permission from government censorship offices to release the deceased aviator's story on 28 January 1944. The story ran in serial form for several weeks and was picked up by over 100 American newspapers. According to writer Charles Leavelle, it was the biggest story of the war since Pearl Harbor. Published in book form in 1944, The Dyess Story (later retitled Bataan Death March) became a bestseller.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Silver Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross
Soldier's Medal
Prisoner of War Medal
American Defense Service Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Presidential Unit Citation
Senior Pilot Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation Synopsis (1st of 2 Awards)

Captain (Air Corps) William Edwin Dyess (ASN: 0-22526), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Pilot of a P-40 Fighter Airplane in the 21st Pursuit Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group, FAR EAST Air Force, while participating in a bombing mission against enemy Japanese surface vessels on 2 March 1942, over Subic Bay, Philippine Islands. On this date Captain Dyess hung a 500-pound bomb with a jury-rigged bomb release on a P-40 and, with three other pilots, bombed and strafed Japanese shipping in Subic Bay. Three times that day he braved heavy flak, destroying or damaging several small vessels, warehouses, and supply dumps. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Captain Dyess on this occasion have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, General Orders No. 39 (1942)

Distinguished Service Cross Citation Synopsis (2nd of 2 Awards)

Major (Air Corps) William Edwin Dyess (ASN: 0-22526), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Philippine Guerilla Forces during the period 4 April 1943 through 20 July 1944. Major Dyess was one of ten men including two Naval Officers, three Air Corps Officers, and two Marine Corps Officers who escaped after nearly a year in captivity after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor. The ten men evaded their captors for days until connecting with Filipino Guerillas under Wendell Fertig. The officers remained with the guerillas for weeks, obtaining vital information which they carried with them when they were subsequently evacuated by American submarines. Their escape was the only mass escape from a Japanese prison camp during the war. The personal courage and zealous devotion to duty displayed by Major Dyess during this period have upheld the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Prisoner of War, and the United States Army Air Forces.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, General Orders No. 46 (1943)

Soldier's Medal Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pride in presenting the Soldier's Medal (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Colonel (Air Corps) William Edwin Dyess (ASN: 0-22526), United States Army Air Forces, for heroism involving voluntary risk of life not involving conflict with an armed enemy, at Burbank, California, on 22 December 1943, by crash landing his airplane in a small vacant lot in order to avoid hitting civilians traveling on a broad road where a comparatively save landing could have been made. This act of self-sacrifice resulted in the death of Colonel Dyess.

General Orders: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 11, (February 7, 1944)

Honors

● In 1957, Abilene Army Airfield was renamed Dyess Air Force Base in his honor.
● Dyess was awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor.
● Lieutenant Colonel Dyess' personal papers are archived at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and at the Special Collections Archive at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.

Burial

Lieutenant Colonel William Edwin Dyess is buried at Albany Cemetery in Albany, Shackelford County, TX.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15355077



Honoree ID: 309233   Created by: MHOH

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