Lloyd H. Stinson
Colonel, U.S. Air Force

Lloyd H. Stinson was born on 20 October 1918, in Greenwood, MS. He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Corps on 7 September 1940, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings on 26 April 1941.

Stinson joined the 20th Pursuit Squadron of the 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines in early December 1941, and managed to destroy 2 enemy aircraft in aerial combat before being taken as a Prisoner of War when Bataan fell to the Japanese on 10 April 1942. Stinson was held in captivity for the next 1,247 days, and was released on 7 September 1945, shortly after the end of World War II.

He was on medical leave to recover from his injuries until August 1946, and then attended pilot refresher training before attending the Air Tactical School at Tyndall AFB, FL, from August to December 1947. Captain Stinson then completed Instructor Pilot Training and served as a Flight Instructor with the 3525th Pilot Training Wing at Williams AFB, AZ, from October 1948 to August 1951, followed by service as Commander of the 3530th Pilot Training Group at Bergstrom AFB, TX, and then at Greenville AFB, MS, from August 1951 to February 1954.

Colonel Stinson attended Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, VA, from February to July 1954, followed by a tour as an Exchange Officer with the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet in the Pacific from August 1954 to September 1955. His next assignment was as Commander of the 62nd and then the 63rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at O'Hare International Airport, IL, from November 1955 to November 1957, followed by service as Director of Operations and Training for the 37th and then the 30th Air Division at Truax Field, WI, from November 1957 to January 1960. Colonel Stinson was Chief of the Readiness Division with Headquarters Air Defense Command at Ent AFB, CO, from January 1960 to August 1963, and then served on the staff of Allied Air Forces Central Europe at Fountainebleau, France, from August 1963 to August 1966.

He served on the staff with Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Pentagon from September 1966 to April 1968, and then served as President of the U.S. Air Force Physical Evaluation Board in the Retirement Division of the Director of Personnel Program Actions at Andrews AFB, Washington, DC, from April 1968 until his retirement from the Air Force on 1 March 1970.

Death and Burial

Colonel Lloyd H. Stinson died on 17 March 2001 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Venice, FL. He was 82. Burial location is unknown.