Forever a patriot and a flier

As a career airline pilot, Lt. Bill Dickey spent most of his time out

of the public eye.

But when the opportunity arose to show off his looks, Bill Dickey

jumped at the chance. His employer, Trans World Airlines, featured

him in a company commercial in which he pinned miniature plastic

wings on a child’s shirt.

“He loved to fly,” said Don Dickey, Bill’s brother. “He enjoyed

taking his friends on board. He fell in love with the air.”

A decorated World War II hero, Bill Dickey died Aug. 3 of

Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84.

Bill Dickey, born in Santa Ana, spent most of his childhood living

on the Balboa Peninsula, right in the heart of the downtown.

He was a Newport Harbor High School graduate; he spent summers

working in a shipyard; and for a short time, he was the manager of

Lido Theater.

Bill Dickey began his military career in 1942 in the Naval

Reserves, stationed at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.

He was then transferred to Pensacola, Fla.

During the war, as a Navy pilot, he flew aboard the U.S. escort

carrier Fanshaw Bay. Dickey earned the Distinguished Flying Cross

medal for helping turn back Japanese battleships, cruisers and

destroyers that attempted to destroy his carrier division in the

Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was the first pilot to sight the Japanese

fleet in the battle.

He won the Air Medal for “intercepting a large formation of ...

[Japanese] bombing planes striking at the invasion ships in Leyte

Gulf,” according to a military report.

Dickey, who also participated in the battles of Saipan and Tinian,

received the medals in a 1945 ceremony in San Diego.

“He was a very patriotic man,” said Darlene Dickey, Don Dickey’s

wife.

After leaving the Navy, Bill Dickey traveled to Kansas City to get

his commercial piloting license.

“He practically went from a Navy uniform to a TWA uniform in a

matter of months,” Don Dickey said.

Bill Dickey stayed with TWA for more than 30 years, flying both

domestic and international flights. He also flew his own private

two-seat airplane.

Bill Dickey spent much of his adult life in San Juan Capistrano.

He stayed connected to Newport Beach by competing in local yacht

races.

“He was a very strong character -- very energetic,” Don Dickey

said. “He was very helpful to his family.”

Though he rarely talked about his time in the service, Bill Dickey

was known to bring home mementos, such as a down sleeping bag he gave

to Don Dickey when he was 14 years old.

Don Dickey said his brother was especially close to his mother,

Martha. The two went to lunch almost every day they were in the same

place.

“He was a class A gentleman,” Darlene Dickey said.

* ELIA POWERS may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or

o7elia.powers@latimes.comf7.