Stiles enlisted in the United States Army in January 1943, became an aviation cadet, and was commissioned a second lieutenant, Air Corps, in November. He won pilot wings and was assigned to a B-17 Flying Fortress replacement crew sent to the Eighth Air Force in March, 1944.
Bomber co-pilot
Assigned to the 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group at Bassingbourn, England, he began flying missions with the crew of 2d Lt. Sam Newton on April 19, 1944, with their first to Kassel, Germany. Thereafter the crew flew an average of two to three missions per week, usually on consecutive days. This pattern continued through May as the 91st attacked both strategic targets in Germany, V-1 launch sites, and targets in France in preparation for Operation Overlord. Their first mission against Berlin occurred May 7.
Newton's crew was assigned to and primarily flew B-17G-50-BO, s/n 42-102504, nicknamed
Times A-Wastin' and carrying the fuselage codes LL - D. The crew made one mission in another noted 91st B-17,
Shoo Shoo Baby, on May 25, 1944, to bomb Essey-les-Nancy airfield in France, but turned back to base early because the plane's oxygen system malfunctioned.
Stiles continued to write, both highly personalized pieces for the London
Daily Mail, articles for
Yank and
Air Force Magazine, and the manuscript for a book. He eventually flew twenty missions with Sam Newton's crew, and his manuscript was a journal-style memoir of his experiences with them. In mid-June, 1944, he was separated from Newton's crew and out of combat for a month, and when he resumed flying, he finished his 35-mission combat tour for the 91st Bomb Group with a different crew.
Fighter pilot
Stiles refused an opportunity to return to the United States as a flight instructor and volunteered for a second tour with the Eighth, requesting an assignment in fighter. He completed conversion training and was assigned as a pilot with the 505th Fighter Squadron, 339th Fighter Group, a P-51 Mustang unit stationed at Fowlmere, England, about five miles distant from his previous base at Bassingbourn.
On November 26, 1944, on the 16th mission of his second tour, Stiles' squadron was flying at 26,000 feet altitude south of Hanover, Germany, on a bomber escort mission. Stiles was flying a P-51 nicknamed
Tar Heel, normally flown by Capt. James R. Starnes of his squadron (P-51D- s/n 44-14113). Encountering 40-60 Luftwaffe FW-190s, Stiles engaged one in combat and shot it down (Air Force Historical Study No. 85 credits Stiles with the kill), but apparently became disoriented when the dogfight descended to low altitude. His P-51 impacted the ground almost immediately, killing him. Stiles is interred at the Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupré, Liège, Belgium.
Awards and decorations
- USAAF pilot rating
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Purple Heart
- Air Medal (with five oak leaf clusters)