William served as a First Lieutenant & Co-Pilot on B-24J #44-40596, 72nd Bomber Squadron, 5th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Cook County, Illinois prior to the war.
B-24J #44-40596 took off from Wakde Airfield, with a crew of 10 and other B-24's, on a Strike Mission over the Palau Islands. After a successful bombing run they were attacked by multiple Japanese aircraft and shot down crashing into the sea. Some of the crew were able to parachute out.
It is noted on the MACR that William did bail out however he hit the rudder of the B-24 prior to his chute opening.
William was declared "Missing In Action" in this crash during the war.
He was awarded the Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.
Service # O-692807
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Airmen who perished on B-24J #44-40596:
Blanchard, Henry M, II ~ 1st Lt, Navigator, FL
Curry, Earl R ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, IL
Evans, Reuben M ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, AL
Hedrick, Von O ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, NC
Lecakes, Gregory ~ T/Sgt, Radio Operator, NY
Matthews, Joel M ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, GA
Moe, William H, Jr ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, IL
Pennington, Ernest R ~ T/Sgt, Engineer, WV
Rea, Grant M ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, CA
Sempel, Judd C ~ 1st Lt, Bombardier, WA
( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
William served as a First Lieutenant & Co-Pilot on B-24J #44-40596, 72nd Bomber Squadron, 5th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
He resided in Cook County, Illinois prior to the war.
B-24J #44-40596 took off from Wakde Airfield, with a crew of 10 and other B-24's, on a Strike Mission over the Palau Islands. After a successful bombing run they were attacked by multiple Japanese aircraft and shot down crashing into the sea. Some of the crew were able to parachute out.
It is noted on the MACR that William did bail out however he hit the rudder of the B-24 prior to his chute opening.
William was declared "Missing In Action" in this crash during the war.
He was awarded the Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.
Service # O-692807
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Airmen who perished on B-24J #44-40596:
Blanchard, Henry M, II ~ 1st Lt, Navigator, FL
Curry, Earl R ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, IL
Evans, Reuben M ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, AL
Hedrick, Von O ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, NC
Lecakes, Gregory ~ T/Sgt, Radio Operator, NY
Matthews, Joel M ~ S/Sgt, Gunner, GA
Moe, William H, Jr ~ 1st Lt, Co-Pilot, IL
Pennington, Ernest R ~ T/Sgt, Engineer, WV
Rea, Grant M ~ 1st Lt, Pilot, CA
Sempel, Judd C ~ 1st Lt, Bombardier, WA
( Bio & Crew Report by: Russ Pickett )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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