William T Seawell

Military
Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrich with airmen of the 401st Bomb Group after a ride in a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Pakawalup". Printed caption on reverse: 'Marlene Dietrich, long famed for her attractive legs, entertained more than 1,000 officers and enlisted men of the 8th Air Force Base at Hangar no 1 on 29 September 1944, Miss Dietrich and party were picked up from Birmingham in the Boeing B-17 "Pakawalup" piloted by Colonel William T Seawell (2nd left) and Captain Felix Kalinski (left) with Lawr media-380520.jpg FRE 1712 Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrich with airmen of the 401st Bomb Group after a ride in a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Pakawalup". Printed caption on reverse: 'Marlene Dietrich, long famed for her attractive legs, entertained more than 1,000 officers and enlisted men of the 8th Air Force Base at Hangar no 1 on 29 September 1944, Miss Dietrich and party were picked up from Birmingham in the Boeing B-17 "Pakawalup" piloted by Colonel William T Seawell (2nd left) and Captain Felix Kalinski (left) with Lawrence W Pfeiffer as navigator. US Air Force Photo.' Roger Freeman Collection

Roger Freeman Photo

Object Number - FRE 1712 - Hollywood actress Marlene Dietrich with airmen of the 401st Bomb Group after a ride in a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Pakawalup". Printed caption...

Commanding Officer of 401st BG from 5 December 1944 to 30 May 1945. Flew 30 missions. He later served as Commandant of the cadets at USAF Academy in Colorado and then as President and Chairman of Pan Amercian World Airways.



Silver Star/ Air Medal





A graduate of West Point in 1941, Colonel ( later Brigadier General) Seawell was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant with the US Army Air Corps and earned his wings in 1942. Posted in England with 401st Bombardment Group, he served as pilot and co-pilot, flying 20 missions between1943-45. He was remembered at Deenethorpe for flying Marlene Dietrich to her concert in September 1944 in B-17 Pakawalup with Captain Felix Kalinski and 1st Lt W Pfeiffer.



After the war his career in aviation involved post war air commands; a post as Commandant of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy; two years with the Air Transport Academy; senior vice-president for operations at American Airlines and president of Rolls-Royce Aero engines.



Recruited by Pan Am in 1971 as president and chief operating officer, he later took over as chairman and chief executive. Despite efforts to save Pan Am from economic decline, Pan Am’s operating costs continued to climb and he retired in 1981.



Connections

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Units served with

A pathfinder B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 44-8258) of the 401st Bomb Group. Image by Robert Astrella. Written on slide casing: '48258 14 A, Mount Farm.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Pine Bluff, Arkansas 27 January 1918

Died

20 May 2005

Revisions

Date
ContributorAnne Hughes
Changes
Sources

401st Bomb Group Association
New York Times Obituary
Evening Telegraph 1992 souvenir supplement

Date
ContributorAnne Hughes
Changes
Sources

New York Times Obituary

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum Membership List, July 2000; Whos Who in the Eighth Air Force and/or Biographical Directory Command & Staff Officers Eighth Air Force 1942-45, http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=719

William T Seawell: Gallery (4 items)