Born January 15, 1913 in Johnston County, North Carolina. Hubert (Bert) Stewart left North Carolina in 1939 determined to fly and fight Hitler and so he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, After flight school, he was assigned to be an instructor and to remain in Canada. He went AWOL to board a troopship to England. In spite of Canada's attempts to punish him for desertion "toward the enemy," England was facing the Battle of Britain, so the RAF put him into a Spitfire and commissioned him a Flight Lieutenant. He met an Australian newspaper reporter, Elaine Howells, during the Blitz of London - starting a lifetime marriage. After Pearl Harbor, he and most of his Eagle Squadron brethren changed uniforms and became the experienced core of America's newly formed 8th Fighter Group - destroying more enemy aircraft than any other during the war. After VE Day, Bert went to the Pacific Theater and flew fighters against the Empire of Japan until their surrender. He left the Air Force as a Major, and moved his family to California. His 4 sons all became involved in aviation.