When William Waggoner Cavaleri was born on June 7, 1909, in Atlanta, Georgia, his father, Emilio, was 33 and his mother, Maggie, was 31. After serving an apprenticeship with Steward Machine Company in Birmingham, Alabama, he enlisted in the Army Air Force on July 23rd 1929. Stationed at Brooks Field in Bexar, Texas in 1930. William married Evelyn Young on May 6, 1932, in Tennessee, when he was 22 years old. In 1940, he was a Sergeant in the 72nd Bombardment Squadron in Honolulu, Hawaii. During World War II he served in the North Africa air campaign. A second marriage occurred on October 5th, 1945 to Doris Holmes in Nashville, Tennessee.

He died on December 7, 1946, in Battle Creek, Michigan, at the age of 37 while serving in the United States Air Force. He was buried in Atlanta, Georgia. He had five brothers and seven sisters.

Death Notice:
12/10/1946 - Page 9 - The Atlanta Constitution
CAVALERI - The friends and relatives of Master Sgt. and Mrs. William Waggoner Cavaleri, Mr. Timmy Cavaleri, Rev. and Mrs. E. E. Cavaleri, Sr., Radford, Virginia, Mr. and Mrs. Dean Peck, Decatur, Alabama; Mr. and Mrs. John Roberts, Birmingham; Mr. and Mrs. Max Creviston, Muncie, Indiana; Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Cantrell, Jellico, Tennessee; Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Hammond, Jr., Knoxville; Mr. and Mrs. Edwin F. Cavaleri, Atlanta; Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Cavaleri, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Cavaleri, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis H. Cavaleri, all of Birmingham; Mrs. Edwina Buford and Mrs. Fred Burrus, both of Atlanta, are invited to attend the funeral of Master Sgt. William Waggoner Cavaleri, Tuesday, December 10, 1946, at 4 o'clock at Spring Hill. Chaplain Ralph W. Rogers officiating. Interment, Hollywood Cemetery. H. M. Patterson & Son.