PHILIP H. STEVENS PAPERS

Philip H. Stevens was born January 18, 1924 in Groton, New York, where he lived until he joined the Army. As a high school sophomore, Stevens decided to become an industrial designer. He enlisted in the Army April 13, 1943 at Syracuse, New York. Due to his interest in skiing, Stevens volunteered for the ski troops and was assigned to the 10th Light Division (Alpine), which later became the 10th Mountain Division. He trained at Camp Hale, Colorado with company C of the 86th Infantry Regiment until December 1943, when he joined the Air Corps as an aviation cadet. He returned to the infantry when the Army reassigned Air Corps men with infantry experience. He served briefly with the 75th Infantry Division before returning to the 10th Mountain Division, which was then training at Camp Swift, Texas. During the Italian Campaign, Stevens participated in the attack on Riva Ridge, where he was wounded in action February 20, 1945. This wound left him with only partial use of his left arm. Stevens received treatment and rehabilitation at the Thomas M. England General Hospital, Atlantic City, New Jersey until he was discharged from the Army in April 1946.

Following the war, Stevens attended Syracuse University, majoring in Industrial Design. He graduated with honors in 1951 and went to work for the Convair Company in Fort Worth, Texas, where he worked on the B-36 strategic bomber as a design engineer. Stevens married Anne Fairchild in 1953, and the couple had two children. Stevens returned to Syracuse in 1955 to start his own design firm. In 1957, he formed a partnership: Stevens-Chase Design Associates. In 1970, this firm was succeeded by Philip Stevens Associates, Ltd. During his career, Stevens testified before Congress as well as before Presidential commissions. He was appointed a Fellow by the Industrial Designer Society of America for his distinguished work.

Stevens was extremely active in the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division, becoming one of the founders and three-term president of the Central New York Chapter. He was instrumental in the formation of the Military Mountaineering Advisory Group, which was established in the fall of 1982 by the National Association's Executive Committee to promote the continued training of mountain troops within the current military establishment. He served twenty-five years on the National Ski Patrol. In 1994, Stevens authored Mountain Soldiers: the Quest for Preparedness for the Military Mountaineering Advisory Group.

Citing incompatibility, Stevens and his first wife, Anne Fairchild, were divorced in 1984. Stevens married Margueritte Pendergast, widow of 10th Mountain Division veteran, Abbott Pendergast, in 1990. Stevens retired in 1997. In 2002, he wrote and self-published Industrial Design: A Practicing Professional.