Shoreline resident honored on Veterans Day

County Councilmember Rod Dembowski presented
Dwight Stevens with a check for $10,000 for the
Shoreline veterans memorial
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Dwight Stevens is 89 now, and will have been married to Helen for 70 years in January. He is a model community volunteer, with an outstanding military flight experience. He was honored for his military service, including co-founding and chairing the Shoreline Veterans Association. He received a special flag for the Shoreline Veterans Memorial project from keynote speaker Rick McDonald, and a check for $10,000 from King County that County Councilmember Rod Dembowski presented to him for the memorial project.

From left, Dick Deal, Dwight Stevens, Mayor Keith McGlashan
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Dick Deal

It is a privilege and an honor for me to make this Special Presentation and share the history of an outstanding citizen in our midst who has nobly served our country and this community.

This person has been selfless in his life of service to others. Many of you know this person, but few of you know all the ways he has impacted the lives of those around him.

I am not here to tell you about the lives of hundreds of immigrants to this country he has enhanced by volunteering to teach English as a Second Language classes for over twenty-two years.

Or, his work as founder of the Echo Lake Neighborhood Association

Or, his efforts as Chairman of the Shoreline Council of Neighborhoods

Or, his long term leadership and service as a member and Chairman of Shoreline Park Board

Or, his on-going work as a Master Composter and Recycler at numerous community events

Nor his decades of serving youth as a High School Basketball Referee and sports official

I’m here to share with you the work and service to our country this person performed as an active member of the military.

Keynote speaker Rick MacDonald addresses the gathering.
He presented Dwight Stevens with a flag for the
Veterans Memorial Project
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Dwight N. Stevens was born in Seattle in 1924 and graduated from West Seattle High School in June 1942, 7 months after World War II began. He enlisted in the Army in September 1942, and reported for 3 month of Basic Training at Santa Anna, California in December 1942. He spent 9 months in Arizona attending Primary Flight Training,  Basic Flight Training, and Advanced Flight Training.

Dwight graduated from flight training on January 7, 1944, and received his Officer’s Wings as a 2nd Lt.  On the same day he was also married to his high school sweetheart, Helen Braas of West Seattle. It is worth noting that in less than two months on January 7th, Dwight and his lovely bride Helen will be celebrating 70 years  of marriage.

After a 10-day honeymoon in wartime Hollywood, Dwight was assigned to two months of B-17 Transition Training in Yuma, Arizona, then three months of crew training at  the 222nd Combat Training School in Salt Lake City, Utah, graduating in May 1944. He was then flown to Prestwick, Scotland in a C-54 Transport plane, arriving June 7, 1944, the day after the D-Day invasion began in France. He was assigned to the 95th Heavy Bombardment Group stationed at Horham, Suffolk, England,  60 miles north of London.

In the next six months, as a B-17 pilot, Dwight flew 33 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe and participated in air raid missions over heavily-defended German targets such as Hamburg, Munich, and Berlin as well as other targets in Belgium, France, Poland and Romania.

During what he described as the “toughest” mission, on an air raid over Hamburg, Germany, the B-17 bomber he was piloting lost both left-side engines to heavy German anti-aircraft fire over the target. To lighten the damaged, struggling plane and improve its airworthiness and chances for making it back to Horham, the crew dropped the plane’s 2,000 lb. ball-turret and threw all machine guns, ammunition, and non-essential gear overboard. With the help of a protective escort of P-47 fighter planes, they “just made it back” to land at home base at Horham, England.

On the last five of his 33 air missions, our honoree and his crew were chosen as the Lead Plane, guiding 1500 airplanes to their intended targets. For his effort, skill and courage on these five missions, Dwight was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ), the highest award a flying officer can earn. He was also awarded the European Theater of Operations Ribbon with three stars, plus four Air Medals. In a ceremony held in New York on September 18, 1994, 50 years to the day after participating in a low-altitude raid in support of the Polish Military at the Warsaw Uprising, Dwight was awarded the Polish Home Army Medal personally, by the President of Poland, Lech Walesa.

Our honoree was promoted to the rank of 1st Lt. in September 1944, and flew his last combat mission on December 14th of that year. He spent the last six months of his military service as a flight instructor at Luke Field in Arizona. He was discharged from the Army Air Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington on August 1, 1945.

To this day he continues to serve our community and its Veterans as a founding member and Chairman of the Shoreline Veteran’s Association. Under his leadership the group has organized Shoreline’s Annual Veteran’s day celebration. 

Just last month Dwight presented to the Park Board his thoughts on working with citizens and city leaders to see that a place is created to honor, past, present, and future Shoreline Veterans for their service to our country.

This man has been committed to his country, family, and community, for all of his 89 years.

On this Veteran’s Day, we honor our friend, a great community leader and Veteran who has ably served our country, Mr. Dwight N. Stevens.