Lt. Col. William E. Dyess
Abilene, Taylor County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Albany, Texas native William Edwin Dyess (b. 1916) graduated from John Tarleton Agricultural College and became an aviation cadet at Randolph Field, San Antonio. Dyess went to the Philippine Islands as commander of the 21st Pursuit Squadron of P-40 aircraft. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, and invaded the Philippines, Dyess led successful attacks against Japanese shipping in Subic Bay, with few operational planes, and served as an infantry commander during the Fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942. He was taken prisoner and faced the grueling Bataan Death March that resulted in the loss of thousands of American and Filipino lives. Despite the malnutrition, disease and torture the captives faced in Japanese prison camps, Dyess survived. On April 4, 1943, almost a year after his capture, he and 11 other men escaped, making their way through hostile territory. They connected with a guerrilla group who put them in touch with a U.S. submarine that took them to Australia. Dyess debriefed with the War Department and Gen. Douglas MacArthur. After Dyess returned home, publication of his stories in the Chicago Tribune provided invaluable information on conditions in Japanese prisoner of war camps that altered world opinion. Promoted to Lt. Colonel and recuperated from his wartime ordeal, Dyess returned to flying. He died on December 22, 1943, when the new P-38 he piloted caught fire over Burbank, Ca., and crashed. His wife, Marajen, published his personal war accounts the next year as The Dyess Story, and he was the insipiration for the acclaimed play Men of Bataan (1943). Highly decorated for combat heroism and leadership, Dyess was buried in Albany (35 mi. NE). In his honor, Abilene Air Force Base was renamed Dyess Air Force Base in 1956. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This Abilene marker traces the arc of Albany native William Edwin Dyess from aviation cadet at Randolph Field to squadron commander in the Philippines, where he fought on despite crippling losses of aircraft. Taken prisoner at the fall of Bataan in 1942, he survived the Death March and prison camps, then escaped with eleven others in 1943 â reaching Australia by guerrilla contact and submarine. His accounts in the Chicago Tribune exposed conditions in Japanese camps before he died flying a new P-38 over Burbank late that year.
Why it matters
Abilene's air base was renamed for him in 1956, tying a major American military installation directly to one officer's endurance and truth-telling in the Pacific war.
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Related people
- ¡ William Edwin Dyess
- ¡ Marajen Dyess
- ¡ Douglas MacArthur
Related events
- ¡ Bataan Death March
- ¡ Fall of Bataan
- ¡ Dyess Air Force Base renaming
Themes & tags
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