DUANE
Duane's take
The marker in Albany, Shackelford County tells it this way, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, Albany, Texas has seen its share of tough men and hard stories, but few lives packed so much into so little time as William Edwin Dyess. Born August 9th, 1916, son of Judge Richard T. and Hallie Graham Dyess, he was Albany through and through — graduated Albany High School, went on to John Tarleton Agricultural College, then trained as a pilot out at Randolph Field in San Antonio.
By the time the world started crackling with trouble, Dyess was already in the air. He was leading the 21st Pursuit Squadron of P-40s in the Philippines when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the United States entered World War II. And here's where the story turns heavy.
The Japanese were coming, and Dyess met them at Subic Bay with precious few operational planes to his name. Didn't matter. He fought with what he had, and when the situation demanded it, he stepped off the runway and led men on the ground as an infantry commander.
Bravery and resourcefulness — those were the two words people kept reachin' for when they talked about what he did there. But the worst was still coming. On April 9th, 1942, Bataan fell.
Dyess was among the men captured — and what followed was the Death March. Malnutrition. Disease.
Torture. Thousands of his comrades did not survive it. Dyess did, though barely, and that survival itself says something about the man.
Almost a year after their capture, he and eleven other men escaped. Eleven. They made their way through hostile territory and reached safety.
Dyess then reported directly to the U.S. War Department and to General Douglas MacArthur on enemy actions. And when his personal accounts of Japanese atrocities ran in the Chicago Tribune, they influenced world opinion on the brutalities of that war.
The world needed to hear it, and he made sure it did. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, Dyess came home to Albany in November 1943 after recuperating. He stopped at the football field — made an appearance on his way through town, on his way to California.
You have to wonder what that homecoming felt like, stepping back onto that familiar ground after everything he'd seen. But he didn't stay long. Weeks later, on December 22nd, 1943, the P-38 he was piloting crashed at Burbank.
He was gone. His body was brought back to Albany for burial. The story didn't end with him, though.
His wife, Marajen, published The Dyess Story in 1944, putting his accounts into a book so the world wouldn't forget. Albany playwright Robert E. Nail, Jr. wrote Men of Bataan in 1943 — an acclaimed play based on Dyess's exploits.
And in 1956, Dyess Air Force Base at Abilene was named in his honor. An Albany boy. A decorated war hero.
A man who survived the unsurvivable, told the truth about what he'd witnessed, came home just long enough to wave at the football field — and left a name on an Air Force base that's still standing today.
What the marker says
(August 9, 1916 – December 22, 1943) A native of Albany, and a graduate of Albany High School and John Tarleton Agricultural College, William Edwin Dyess was the son of Judge Richard T. and Hallie Graham Dyess. Trained as a pilot at Randolph Field, San Antonio, he led the 21st Pursuit Squadron of P-40s in the Phillipines, where he was when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the U.S. entered World War II. Dyess' actions against invading Japanese forces at Subic Bay, despite few operational planes, and his later role as infantry commander earned him a reputation for bravery and resourcefulness. Dyess was among the men captured at the Fall of Bataan on April 9, 1942 and forced into the grueling Death March. He survived the malnutrition, disease and torture that resulted in the loss of thousands of his comrades. Almost a year after their capture he and 11 other men escaped and made their way to safety through hostile territory. Dyess reported to the U.S. War Department and Gen. Douglas MacArthur on enemy actions. Through his personal accounts of Japanese atrocities in the Chicago Tribune, he influences world opinion on wartime brutalities. Promoted to Lt. Colonel, Dyess returned to Albany in November 1943 after recuperation and made an appearance at the football field on his way to California. Weeks later, he died when the P-38 he piloted crashed at Burbank. His body was returned to his hometown for burial. His wife, Marajen, published The Dyess Story (1944), a book of his accounts, and Albany playwright Robert E. Nail, Jr., wrote Men of Bataan (1943), an acclaimed play based on his exploits. Dyess Air Force Base at Abilene was named in honor of Albany's much-decorated war hero in 1956. (2005)