CAPTAIN ROBERT W. STEVENS left the control cabin of the Western Airlines Douglas DC-10 in Seattle, WA on May 20, 1978, ending a 34-year, accident-free career of airline flying, much of it in the Territory and State of Alaska.

Stevens was born on a homestead on the northern Minnesota border near Baudette, MN on May 22, 1918. He grew up in Crookston, MN, graduating from Central High School in 1936. Coming out of the depression there was no work to be had and he enrolled in a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Bena, MN.

He managed to secure a leave of absence to enroll in Junior College in Hibbing, MN in 1940. They had a Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) program in conjunction with L. Millar Wittig Flying School at the local airport. Intensely interested in aviation the student took both Primary and Secondary courses in the spring of 1941 and in 1942. He proceeded on to CPT cross-country training at Fargo, ND in the fall of 1942. He enrolled in the Link-Instrument War Training Service course (CPT had now become WTS) at American Airport in Park Ridge, IL and at Kent County Airport in Grand Rapids, MI. This in the winter of 1942-43. He entered the WTS Secondary Instructor course at St. Paul, MN in 1943.

He served in the US Army as a Private, having enrolled in the Reserve on August 11, 1942. He had a Commercial Pilot License at this time. He received an honorable discharge September 29, 194 3. He traveled west to serve as a Ground Instructor for Stockton Junior College at Carson City, NV from October 21, 1943 until January 19, 1944 when War Training Service closed their pilot training with the scaling down of the war.

Stevens next worked as a Junior Airport Manager for Pan American Airways at their Treasure Island base in San Francisco, CA dispatching Boeing B-314 Clippers and Consolidated PB4Y-Rs on the Pacific run. Here from March 28, 1944 until October 28, 1944 as assistant to dispatcher.

Left to take copilot job with United Airlines, Inc. Employed as of November 3, 1944 he was sent to their Training Center to get an instrument rating and to takeDC-3 transition training. Then was assigned on March 14, 1945 as First Officer on the Douglas DC-3 at San Francisco, mostly flying the Green 3 airway to Cheyenne, Wyoming and Denver, Colorado, with the stops. (Went from $165.00 a month to $220.00 a month.

Joined Airline Pilots Association October 8, 1945. Went to Alaska July 18, 1946 as copilot for Pacific Northern Airlines, Inc. (formerly Woodley Airways) who had purchased three new DC-3Ds from Douglas Aircraft. Promoted to Captain of a DC-3 in 1951. Promoted to Captain of DC-4 in 1953, Lockheed L-749 Captain in 1955, Boeing 720-A jet Captain in 1962 (Boeing factory ground school and flight training received).

Pacific Northern Airlines merged with Western Airlines in 1967 and I became part of that pilot group. Rated as Captain of the Douglas DC-10-10 on March 26, 1974 and began flying it for Western Airlines in May of 1974, commuting from Seattle to work out of the Los Angeles base. From here I flew to Acapulco, Mexico City, Vancouver, B.C., to Hawaii, Miami, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Anchorage.

I retired at age 60 per government edict on May 22, 1978, making my last trip with Flight 722 on May 20 from Anchorage to Seattle. Ceased flying actively with about 26,000 hours of airline flying over the past 34 years. I remained involved in researching and writing a complete "HISTORY OF ALASKAN AVIATION -- 1897-1930" for Polynyas Press (my own company); the two heavy volumes are complete and I may go on with further ones. The two volumes were published in 1990 and are available.

Did a lot of magazine writing and wildlife photography for other publications. Still active in Alaska where I did most of my flying.

Awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws, LLD on May 10, 1998 by the University of Alaska in Fairbanks with an accompanying Citation for my many years of flying the Territory and State of Alaska, and for my long attention to its history as shown in my two volumes of "ALASKAN AVIATION HISTORY 1897-1930" By Robert W. Stevens.