In February the Robert E. Nail, Jr. Archives will debut a new exhibit with a focus on World War II hero William Edwin Dyess.
Born and raised in Albany, Texas, Dyess was the son of Judge Richard T. and Hallie Graham Dyess. A natural athlete, he played football and ran track and field at Albany High School, where he graduated in 1934. Dyess then attended John Tarleton Agricultural College, majoring in pre-law, running in track, and serving as president of the student council. In 1936 he graduated from Tarleton, with plans to transfer to the University of Texas to continue his studies in law. Fate intervened however, and after meeting a former trainee from San Antonio’s Randolph Field, Dyess was inspired to join the United States Army Air Corps and undergoing flight training.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after graduation in 1937, he was soon promoted to First Lieutenant and Commander of the 21st Pursuit Squadron while stationed for a short time in Louisiana. Dyess was then transferred to California, where he met a young woman named Marajen Stevickl. They married on November 30, 1940. Almost a year later, in early November of 1941, Dyess and his squadron were transferred overseas and arrived in the Philippines shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
After numerous heroic efforts in battle with the Japanese, Dyess participated in the Battle of Bataan. As the province began to fall in early April of 1942, Dyess chose to stay with his men rather than evacuate, giving up his seat on the last plane out to a comrade.
Dyess and his men were captured by the Japanese on April 9, 1942, and the next morning began the infamous Bataan Death March. The prisoners endured six days of merciless sun, no food or water, and inhumane treatment before arriving at various Japanese prison camps.
In November of 1943, Dyess and others were transported to the Davao Penal Colony on Mindanao. There, Dyess, along with 9 other American POWs and two Filipino convicts began makings plans and preparations for a daring escape attempt. On Sunday, April 4, 1943, the men slipped unnoticed into the nearby jungle and traveled for a month before meeting up with a group of Fliipino guerrillas.
Upon returning to the United States, Dyess received a hero’s welcome in his home town of Albany, Texas. After recuperating in the hospital, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and assigned to fly P-38 Lightnings in preparation for a return to combat. On December 22, 1943, while flight training near Burbank, California, his plane lost an engine due to fire. Dyess attempted an emergency landing on a broad street, but when an unknowing automobile turned into his path, he swerved to avoid it and crashed into a nearby vacant lot.
William Edwin Dyess was buried in the Albany Cemetery, having received many honors and commendations, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, and the Silver Star. Posthumously, he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal and the nearby Abilene Air Force Base was renamed Dyess Air Force Base in his honor in 1956.
- Molly Sauder, Archivist and Librarian