SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (May 24, 2010) -- Generations of family and friends honored 13 young adults recently nominated to attend military service academies, and witnessed the long-overdue recognition of a World War II hero at a ceremony Saturday on the campus of the University of Missouri St. Louis.
The keynote speaker, Michael Williams, deputy to the commander of Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1983 and reminisced about his time at West Point.
He drew laughter from the crowd while recounting phone calls he had with his mother over the trials and tribulations of adjusting to life as a first-year plebe, but his message to the nominees was simple: "Be the best individual you can."
U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay hosts the ceremony every year to recognize graduating seniors from Missouri's First Congressional District that are nominated to attend the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. This year's event had a special surprise that was long 66 years overdue.
Edward Stevens, 94, received the nation's third-highest military award, the Silver Star for Gallantry.
In June 1944, then Lt. Stevens was a B-17 pilot. He and his crew of 10 were on a mission over France when their plane was hit 151 times by anti-aircraft fire. Three of the plane's four engines failed and Stevens tried to maneuver the plane safely out of enemy territory. He successfully navigated the English Channel but could not fly the damaged plane high enough to avoid the white cliffs of Dover that tower some 300 feet above the water. In a split-second decision, he headed for the beach at the base of the cliffs. The cockpit snapped from the fuselage upon landing, but all on board survived.
Stevens remained humble through the presentation.
"I don't know why I should get this special medal," Stevens said after it was pinned to his shirt.
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