William D. Neely, III graduated from the civilian pilot training program based at STC and served in North Africa flying the P-38 "Lightening."; He earned a citation from General James Doolitte for heroism while escorting B-17s over Bo Rizzo, Sicily and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. While training new pilots in Libya during May 1943, Neely's P-38 went into an unrecoverable dive and crashed.