Tom Dillant
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1920 Keene, NH |
| Date and Place of Death: | March 17, 1942 near Myrtle Beach Army Air Field, SC |
| Baseball Experience: | College |
| Position: | Catcher |
| Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Military Unit: | 77th Pursuit Squadron, 20th Pursuit Group USAAF |
| Area Served: | United States |
Thomas D. "Tom" Dillant was born in Keene, New Hampshire in 1920.
He played baseball at Keene High School and was on the varsity team
at Keene Teachers College (now Keene State College), winning the New
England Teachers' College Conference championship in 1939.
Dillant was part of the Civilian Pilot Training Group at Keene in 1939
and when he entered military service in 1941, it was with the Army Air
Corps. Dillant trained as a fighter pilot, and was commissioned a second
lieutenant at Foster Field, Victoria, Texas in February 1942.
On March 17, 1942, Second Lieutenant Dillant was on a routine flight
with the 77th Pursuit Squadron, 20th Pursuit Group when he lost his life
attempting an emergency landing at sea in a Bell P-39F Airacobra near Myrtle
Beach Army Air Field in South Carolina. He was 25 years old.
"The first death [of a Keene student] was particularly hard to take,"
wrote James G. Smart in Striving: Keene Sate College 1909/1984. "A Keene
native, he had been in many school musicals, had been a catcher for the
baseball team, and had been president of his class. He had civilian
pilot training here, and was killed in a forced landing off Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina. The last words to his class (1941) were: 'Let
education be every man's lantern, common sense his path, and success
will be his destiny.' It is often said that war draws off from a country
its best blood and brains. It seemed to be true. His memorial was the
airport in North Swanzey dedicated to him and Edwin Hopkins, the first
Swanzey youth to die in uniform."
Dillant-Hopkins Airport, dedicated October 31, 1943, is still in operation.
Tom Dillant (front row, second from right) with the Keene Teachers College baseball team
Thanks to Robert J. Madden at Keene State College for help with this biography. Thanks also to Astrid van Erp for help with photos for this biography
Date Added July 28, 2012 Updated July 29, 2017
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