Lester Maitland

Lester James Maitland was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 8. 1899. After graduating from Milwaukee's Riverside High School in 1917, he enlisted in the United States Army Signal Corps and was assigned to The School of Military Aeronautics, Austin, Texas. His first solo flight occurred on March 20, 1918.

After additional training at aerial gunnery school, Maitland was assigned to Wilbur Wright Experimental Field from November, 1918 to April, 1919 as one of the first army test pilots. Although Maitland never crashed an aircraft, he did experience ten "forced" landings. From 1919 to 1927, Maitland served with the 6th Aero Squadron, Luke Field, Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Territories.

On July 29, 1921, Lieutenant Maitland was assigned to Bolling Field, Washington D.C. There, he was the Aide to General William "Billy" Mitchell and piloted one of the bombers that sank the German battleship "Ostfriesland". This ship was believed to be "unsinkable" by the Germans. During this period, Lieutenant Maitland also placed second in the Pulitzer Air Race on October 14, 1922, and on March 29, 1923 broke the world's absolute speed record at 244.94 MPH, flying a Curtiss R-6 racer.

Maitland's most notable achievement was his piloting of the first transoceanic flight from California to Hawaii on June 28, 1927 with Albert F. Hegenberger as navigator. Maitland flew a Fokker C-2 Trimotor from Oakland, California to Wheeler Field on the island of Oahu, a distance of 2,416 miles in 26 hours, 49 minutes. This event took place about six weeks after Charles Lindbergh's historic transatlantic flight to Paris, France. For this accomplishment, Maitland was awarded the second Distinguished Flying Cross ever issued. Both Maitland and Hegenberger were also awarded the Mackay Trophy for 1927. These men have streets named after them, Maitland Street is a road that surrounds a golf course near the Oakland International Airport and Hegenburger Road is the road that leads to the Oakland International Airport from Interstate 880.

On December 8, 1941, Lieutenant Colonel Maitland was Commanding Officer at Clark Field in the Philippines when the Japanese attacked. Clark field suffered similar damage and casualties as Pearl Harbor. After being ordered to Australia by General MacArthur, he returned to the United States and was assigned to organize and train the 386th Bombardment Group (Medium) for combat duty in Europe. While in Europe, Colonel Maitland flew 44 combat missions in B-26 Marauders and received the Silver Star, his second Distinguished Flying Cross, five Air Medals and the Distinguished Unit Citation.

After being retired from the Army Air Corps in 1943, Maitland took the civilian post of Director of Aeronautics for the state of Wisconsin. He was then appointed Director of Civil Defense for the state of Michigan and retired again in 1951 with the rank of Brigadier General in the Michigan National Guard. In 1955, Maitland was ordained into the ministry as an Episcopal priest. He served churches in Michigan, Hawaii, and Arizona. He finally settled in Red Bluff and served at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church in Corning. Although he was officially retired in 1972, Reverend Maitland continued to be active in the church until 1985. Lester Maitland passed away on March 27, 1990.

Two stained glass windows in a Church at St. Mary's Church, Little Easton, Essex, England reflect the life of Lester Maitland. They were dedicated about one month after he passed away. Beneath those windows is a panel with much information about the 386th USAAF Aerial Bombardment Group and then Col. Lester Maitland. At St. Andrew's Church in Corning, there there is a wall display collected by Judith Chamberlain which has a lot of information (articles, pictures, etc.) on Lester Maitland. The Church is located on 815 First Street in Corning.