COMMENTARY>>Remembering a World War II commander

by Chris Rumley
314th Airlift Wing historian

Today, the 314th Airlift Wing remembers its World War II commander, Col. Clayton Stiles. On April 9, 1943, 67 years ago today, Colonel Stiles took command of the 314th Troop Carrier Group at Lawson Field, Ga. - he was 35 years old. The 314th TCG’s new commander was already a seasoned leader, having served in both infantry and field artillery units with the Army.

He began his flying career in 1928, after passing the Flying Cadet examination, and finished his flight training at Kelly Field, Texas, in 1930. From the summer of 1931 until May, 1942, he gained valuable flying experience; first with Delta Airlines, dusting cotton in Texas and then flying commuter flights in the east and Midwest for United Airlines.

Upon taking command, the colonel’s first order of business was to move the entire group including a headquarters unit, four flying squadrons, maintainers, mechanics, support personnel and anexhausting supply of aircraft and equipment from the United States to North Africa. The group arrived in late May, 1943, and from this staging ground, began preparing for their first World War II mission. The young pilots in the 314th TCG, most of them 19 - 23 years old, looked to Colonel Stiles for leadership. The good colonel didn’t let them down and flew the lead ship during every major campaign from Operation Husky in 1943 to Operation Varsity in 1945.

Colonel Stiles led the group on one of the few accurate paratroop drops during Operation Husky - the invasion of Sicily. After the drops, he and his crew were shot down by enemy fire and spent five hours in rubber life rafts before being rescued at sea and returned to their unit.

On the night of June 5, 1944, during Operation Neptune - the D-Day paratroop landings in Normandy, Colonel Stiles once again flew the lead plane. Upon seeing the wall of clouds that separated and disoriented so many troop carrier units that night, Colonel Stiles made a critical decision to go under, rather than through, the cloud bank. The decision kept the formation together and resulted in another accurate drop for the 82nd Airborne Paratroops on board.

Colonel Stiles continued his practice of leading from the front during Operation Market- the paratroop drops into German-occupied Holland, and once again during Operation Varsity - a glider-tow mission into Germany that began the push toward Berlin and signaled the end of the war.

During his command, the 314th TCG transferred from a stateside training mission to an active wartime mission overseas, was stationed in six different locations, participated in seven major campaigns and received two Distinguished Unit Citations.

Under his leadership, the 314th TCG flew 3,136 operational hours during 684 wartime sorties. During those sorties, troop carrier crews dropped-off 7,784 paratroops and transported 520,333 pound of ammunition, 99,430 pounds of equipment and rations, 78 jeeps, 28 trailers, 49 pieces of artillery and 447,666 pounds of gasoline. During that same time period, the 314th TCG had 68 men missing in action, 15 wounded in action and 20 killed in action. Colonel Stiles was awarded the Purple Heart and two Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism and extraordinary achievement during Operation Neptune and Operation Varsity. He continued to serve after the war and went on to attain the rank of major general.

The greatest honor given to the wartime commander was not one that could be pinned on his chest. The greatest honor was from the men of the 314th TCG who flew with him and served under him during the war. All spoke fondly of General Stiles and looked up to him as the leader who saw them through those perilous, uncertain years of war. They respected him immensely and their children grew up listening to stories about him.

General Stiles set a precedent of courageous performance under fire that is still admired and recounted by the 314th Airlift Wing today. It is with this in mind, that they proudly dedicate their wing headquarters in honor of General Stiles.