Fifth-grade students at Brockbank Elementary recently held their annual wax museum and while most students picked people like Daniel Boone, Thomas Edison, Shirley Temple, etc...(all great people), one student picked his grandpa as his famous person in American history. Garrett Dedrickson choose to spotlight his grandpa, Colonel Walter T. Stewart. Colonel Stewart is a local World War ll veteran, best known for leading the 93rd Bombardment Group on the low-level bombing mission of the oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania during Operation "Tidal Wave" on August 1, 1943. After the American commander's plane was shot down, Stewart took the lead, piloting his plane named the "Utah Man" into the face of the German's defences to deliver the first bombs on the target. Stewart's plane came back with 365 holes in it, the damage the aircraft suffered was so severe that he had to reduce airspeed and nearly ran out of fuel. Of the 178 aircrafts that took off, 54 were shot down. The Ploesti raid was the most decorated mission of World War ll. Colonel Stewart retired after 36 years of service and 32 combat missions. Among his many decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Distiguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters. Colonel Walter T. Stewart lives in Benjamin with his wife, Ruth, and is truly an American Hero.
