Senator Ted Stevens' WWII Service

The longest serving Republican U.S. senator, Ted Stevens died in a plane crash in his home state of Alaska last week. His political record was full of many accolades and he set the bar for accomplishments that few senators have been able to match. He was called the 'patron saint of Alaska' for the billions in federal dollars he brought to his constituents. But his accomplishments started at a much younger age. Copied below is the article and picture from "Turnagain Times", news from his home area.


By Ted Spencer
Special to the Turnagain Times

The Prince William Sound Museum in Whittier has perhaps the only museum exhibit in the state honoring Sen. Ted Stevens. The exhibit entitled, “China Skies–The WWII Service of Lt. Ted Stevens”, showcases the little known details of Sen. Stevens’ World War II military service. Installed in 2007, the exhibit had the direct assistance of Senator Stevens and his staff.

Senator Ted Stevens was a true WWII combat veteran and hero who was highly decorated as a pilot for the US Army Air Force.

Stevens went through pilot training at Douglas, Arizona, and earned his Army Air Corps wings in May, 1944. “I went in when I was 19, and got my wings when I was 20,” Stevens recalled. “Three of us in that class were immediately sent to China. Chennault sent a 47 (C-47) out to pick us up for the flight through Burma.

He needed some replacement pilots in for the 14th Air Force Transport Section. The 14th was the successor to the old Flying Tiger Transport Section, who had been flying for Chennault before the US government turned Chennaults’s group into the 14th Air Force. The new group became the 322nd Troop Carrier Squadron.” The 322nd was designated a combat troop carrier unit. Lt. Ted Stevens, 20, was flying Douglas C-47’s and Curtiss C-46’s for General Claire Chennault deep in the mainland of China.

Chennault, who began fighting the Japanese invaders to China with his famous American volunteer Flying Tigers prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and now commanded the 14th Air Force.

“We knew the Japanese could hear our airplanes, but a modified exhaust collector hid the exhaust flames from view at night. We did most our flying across the Japanese lines at night and would try to get to our destination at about daylight. We would land and camouflage our planes during the day and then take off again at night.”

Lieutenant Ted Stevens flew over the some of the most treacherous terrain of the Himalayan Mountains in some of the worst weather on the planet. The heavily loaded planes would fly over mountain ranges in excess of ten thousand feet encountering extreme turbulence, thunderstorms, and icing. Losses for the flights over the “Hump” were more than 400 aircraft and 800 men. For his courage Lt Ted Stevens was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Air Medals and the Chinese order of Yuan Hai for his service having “distinguished himself by heroism and extraordainary meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.”

The museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Anchor Inn Hotel in Whittier.

(Ted Spencer is the curator of the Whittier Museum.)