By Deborah Larsen
Edgar Miller Stuart
Edgar Miller Stuart was born in Romeo, Michigan, on June 9, 1922, the son of Ford and Goldie Roswell Stuart. The Stuart family moved to Rochester when Edgar was a teenager.
In June 1942, Edgar enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was assigned to the 96th Bomb Squadron of the 2nd Bombardment Group. His unit was based in North Africa. On August 26, 1943, Edgar was on his 35th mission, serving as a tail gunner aboard a B-17 tasked with a bombing run on Sulmona, Italy. His airplane was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire over Anzio, and he parachuted from the burning bomber. He was taken prisoner by German forces the next day and spent 21 months in a prisoner-of-war camp. Edgar and his fellow prisoners were liberated on May 2, 1945, by Allied forces under the command of General George Patton. Edgar was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.
Edgar returned to the U.S. on leave in July 1945. He married while awaiting reassignment and was released from military service in October 1945. After the war, he worked as a building engineer for Pontiac Public Schools. He retired to Ocala, Florida, in 1984.
Edgar Miller Stuart died at age 80 on July 14, 2002, and was laid to rest in Ocala, Florida.