Bert Stiles

Bert Stiles (August 30, 1920November 26, 1944) was an American author of short stories who was killed in action during World War II while serving as a fighter pilot in the US Army Air Forces.

Born in Denver, Colorado he was the son of an electrician, Bert Stiles Sr, and a music teacher, Elizabeth Huddleston Stiles. He attended Denver's South High School and worked summers as a junior forest ranger in Estes Park, both of which became sources of material for his short stories. After graduation from high school in 1938 he entered Colorado College, with a pronounced interest in writing both stories and poetry. He became a feature writer for the campus newspaper, The Tiger, expressing pacifist views in vogue at the time, and in June 1941, isolated himself in his fraternity house and produced twenty seven short stories. Stiles mailed samples of his prose to Ruth and Max Aley, literary agents in New York City, who expressed an interest in seeing more. Stiles left college to hitchhike to New York; he was stopped twice by police and sent home twice, but eventually reached New York and delivered his stories in person. The Aleys employed him as a handyman and provided him living space on their farm in Connecticut in order to mentor him in his writing. Stiles wrote ten hours a day throughout the summer of 1941 and his diligence was rewarded when his first story was accepted in September by The Saturday Evening Post, which eventually published "The Ranger" series of stories based on his experiences in Estes Park. He also sold stories to Liberty and The American magazines.

Stiles enlisted in the United States Army in January 1943, becoming an aviation cadet, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Corps, in November. He won pilots wings and was assigned to a B 17 Flying Fortress replacement crew sent to the Eighth Air Force in March 1944.