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| Navy lieutenant Roland Stephenson and his older brother Glenwood, a West Point grad, both lost their lives serving their country in World War 2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130706717/roland-w-stephenson http://3rdstories.yolasite.com/glen-stephenson.php https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101954229/glenwood-gordon-stephenson#view-photo=72273151 |
Roland Stephenson never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on September 8, 1918 in Wisconsin. His parents Gordon and Hazel were born in Wisconsin and North Dakota, respectively. His father worked as an electric shop electrician and later as a dairy farmer. Roland had two older brothers, two younger brothers, and a younger sister. Two of his three brothers who were old enough served in the Army Air Forces and the other in the Marines. Roland attend college until 1943 and graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in engineering. He married Eileen Moehrke in May. They had one daughter.
His oldest brother Glenwood join the army in the 1930s and was sent overseas to Manila. While there he was nominated to attend the US Military Academy at West Point. After graduating in 1940 he took pilot training. He married Anne Grace Nall in 1941. He became a captain in the 27th Bombardment Group which was equipped with A-24 Dauntless dive bombers. He was back in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked hours after bombing Pearl Harbor. (Brother Clyde survived the raid on Pearl Harbor while serving on one of the ships that was attacked.) Captain Stephenson and his fellow flyers did not have any planes to fly because the ship with their planes never got to the Philippines and was sent to Australia. His unit was evacuated in mid-December to join the planes in Australia.
In late March Glenwood was reassigned to the 3rd Bombardment Group. On April 21, 1942 he was flying a B-25 Mitchell returning from a mission looking for the Japanese fleet that would later take part in the Battle of the Coral Sea. Under heavy cloud conditions his plane crashed into Mount Battle Frere in Queensland. It was the first combat mission loss for the 3rd BG in WW2.
Roland was commissioned an ensign in the US Navy in January 1944. He was sent to the Pacific in January 1945. Shortly before his death he was promoted to lieutenant, jg. I was not able to find out more details about his death except he died on an island in the South Pacific on June 15, 1945. It was most likely Okinawa.
Roland's grave is at Hillside Cemetery in Chilton, Wisconsin. Roland's widow did not remarry and died in 2004. I don't know more about his daughter. Glenwood's grave is at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Updated 9/09/2018 from Facebook group Warbird Information Exchange (WIX):
Patrick Grogan I am related through my sister being married to the son of their brother Clyde who is still alive in Wisconsin. Clyde was a marine serving on the USS California during Pearl Harbor. He visited the site in Australia where his brother crashed. Glenwood was one of MacArthur's pilots who escaped Corregidor on the PT boats with him.
For more information about Glenwood's unit, read "Operation PLUM: The Ill-fated 27th Bombardment Group and the Fight for the Western Pacific" by by Adrian R. Martin, Dr. Larry W. Stephenson MD
Last year on this date I profiled Haskell Thrift, 4th Armored Division. You can read about Haskell here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
These columns are certainly a labor of love. Thank you.
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