Photo Caption: Captain Stanley Anderson (Stanley Millick Moore Anderson) Artist: Leslie Emery, 1946.

Among the uniforms and flight gear preserved in the Museum’s collection are artifacts that represent not only military service, but individual decisions made at pivotal moments in history. The collection of Captain Stanley Millick Moore Anderson offers a powerful example. His service spanned two air forces, two fighter aircraft, and some of the most consequential air combat operations of the Second World War.

Before the United States formally entered the war, Anderson volunteered to fight.  In February 1941, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and joined No. 71 Squadron, one of the famed Eagle Squadrons. These squadrons were composed of American pilots who crossed the Atlantic to join Britain’s defense during its most vulnerable period. Flying the Supermarine Spitfire, Anderson trained and operated from RAF stations in England, including Martlesham Heath and Debden, where Eagle Squadron pilots participated in fighter sweeps and defensive patrols over occupied Europe.

See see more about this historic and inspirational Online Collection visit here.