Corporal (Ret.) Stewart Van Deusen enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 at 19 years old. A few months after he graduated basic training in Florida, Van Deusen found himself aboard the Queen Mary II, headed for war in Europe and his first duty station at Bodney Airfield, England, with the 486th Fighter Squadron. Due to his advanced typing skills, he became the unit’s teletype operator, transmitting messages from his command and monitoring for important incoming messages. His squadron was responsible for the fighter escort of long-range bomber missions over Europe.
He would later move into Belgium with his unit in support of the Battle of the Bulge. Van Deusen would spend a total of nine months of service in support of World War II. After the war, Van Deusen’s unit was selected for deployment to the Pacific theater, but that operation ended and, after 15 days aboard a liberty ship, he was back home.
Van Deusen would eventually make his way to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, where he spent 20 years working on F-16 management and information configuration control. Van Deusen now resides in Ogden, Utah.