Colonel William R. Stewart, Jr., USAF (Ret) came in with Prohibition and rejoiced when it was repealed. He enlisted in the Army in 1937 and won an Army appointment to West Point in 1939 and graduated with the first of the World War II classes in January 1943. During WWII he served as a bomber pilot and participated in the victory flight over the Battleship Missouri when the Japanese surrendered on 2 September 1945. He flew for the Air Force for twenty years. 

His assignments included tours in Okinawa, Holland and the Pentagon. He graduated with honors from the Armed Forces Industrial College in 1965. Colonel Stewart earned his Master of Science in Business Administration from George Washington University and retired from the Air Force on 1 July 1968 from Kelly AFB as the Director of Plans for the huge Air Force depot. He ran Kelly Field’s 50th Anniversary celebration in 1967. Bill is prominent in the Order of Daedalians and its local unit, The Stinsons Flight No.2 and has been an activist for Hangar 9 for forty years.   

But his greatest notoriety probably comes from the fact that he spent five years on Alcatraz. The word, “Alcatraz” is known all over the world and commands immediate attention everywhere it is used. “Alcatraz Kid” has never been used as a title and the two words fit together like a hand in a good glove. His story will be recognized as the only first-hand account of life on Alcatraz during its days as an Army prison as there are no others to provide such an account— all of the people, besides Colonel Stewart,  who lived there in the 1920’s and 1930’s are gone. 

Colonel Stewart is well known to thousands of graduates of West Point and to thousands more military aviators who belong to the Order of Daedalians. He has received Citations of Honor for his work with his West Point Class and with his Flight in the Order of Daedalians. He is also known to hundreds more San Antonians for his community work with Hemisfair in 1968 and his efforts to save Hangar 9. His literary efforts lie within his chosen career in the military. Estimates of circulation are his own.

*According to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area