William Irwin Dobbs
World War II Gold Star Veteran from Tennessee

On February 5, 1945 Second Lieutenant Dobbs was declared a casualty of World War II. He served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. He is remembered by the people of Tennessee. May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
William Irwin Dobbs
World War II
World War II
Tennessee
Missing in Action
B-24 Airmen
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Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of William Irwin Dobbs is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2021-01-23 23:57:06.
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Missing : Core Data
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Missing : Supplemental Data
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Service Details
This Profile ID111495
Service IDO-929309
NameWilliam Irwin Dobbs
FromDavidson, Davidson County, Tennessee
Casualty DateFebruary 5, 1945
WarWorld War II
Service BranchArmy Air Forces
RankSecond Lieutenant
SpecialtyCo-Pilot
Unit/Group465th Bomber Group, Heavy, 781st Bomber Squadron
Casualty TypeMissing in action
LocationAdriatic Sea
BurialTablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy
Notable Awards
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Remembered William Irwin Dobbs is buried or memorialized at Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location.
Additional Details
William Irwin Dobbs was born in 1925 in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee. He was later living in Pickett County, Tennessee when he entered the service. He was the son of Stacey Malone Dobbs and Christine Cecilia Irwin.

On February 5, 1945 he was on the crew of B-24H Liberator #42-52503 during a bombing mission to Regensburg, Germany. On the return trip back to their base in Italy, they were lost over the Adriatic Sea. The official report states that the aircraft was short on fuel and experienced engine trouble. There were no survivors and the entire crew of ten men were declared missing.
We identified 10 casualties in our archive related to the #42-52503 incident on February 5, 1945.
William I Dobbs :: Co-Pilot
Charles H Duffield Jr :: Radio Operator
Carrol E Elmore :: Gunner
Vernon M Elsworth :: Tail Gunner
Roscoe E Fee :: Gunner
Howard M Fox :: Engineer
Robert C Jones :: Pilot
Joseph E Ormes :: Bombardier
Bernard J Reardon :: Gunner
Arthur Silver :: Navigator
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
Air Medal
Purple Heart
United States Aviator Badge Army
World War II Victory Medal
American Campaign Medal
Army Presidential Unit Citation
Army Good Conduct Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.
Tennessee Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Tennessee who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
Tennessee was home to over 11,719 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
Tennessee was home to over 11,719 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 1,991 World War I
• 7,527 World War II
• 906 Korean War
• 1,295 Vietnam War
• 178 Prisoners of war
• 1,658 Missing in action
• 42 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 89 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 7 Medal of Honor recipients
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