Foil: 3 Panel: 3 Column: 3 Line: 107

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mrs. H. Leigh Stevenson

James H. Stevenson was a talented mechanic. Prior to December 7, 1941, he had accomplished things like using corks to repair the clutch on a car. The car was a present from his boss because money was tight. After December 7, 1941, he tried to enlist in all of the services but was rejected for color blindness. Ironically, the United States Army Air Corps finally took him in 1942.
His first assignment was to be on the Martin B-26, "Widow Maker", but the need for flight mechanics on C-47s took priority and he wound up in North Africa. During that tour, he designed an improvement of the nose case oil return system that had plagued the P&W 1820 installed in the Gooney Bird. North Africa is where the alcoholic drink of the day was strained Aqua Velva.
England and the buildup for D-Day in late 1943 was a relief from the heat of North Africa. The night before and the day of D-Day, his Troop Carrier Group dropped the 101st and 82nd Airborne in France. The day after saw his plane, PAGLIACCI, named by the pilot, back in Normandy re-supplying those paratroopers. A burst of flack hit the bottom of the fuselage and a piece of triangular aluminum would up covering his eye. The loadmaster pulled it off and he went back to kicking bundles of supplies out the door. As he saw a German soldier in a tree below, he was hit in the chest by a bullet from that soldier. His first thought was, "A minute ago I was blind, now I'm dead". The wound was superficial and he recovered quickly.
After the war, he went to work for United Airlines in Cheyenne, Wyoming converting the war time airplanes back to civilian use. During that time he saw his old airplane come through the system.
Because of his mechanical abilities and people skills he was hired by the then CAA. His career in the government spanned 30 years, retiring in 1984.
TSGT James H. Stevenson would be proud to know that his name is part of the history of aviation.