William Franklyn Williams Jr ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Ohio
On July 21, 1944 First Lieutenant Williams 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 Ohio. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of William Franklyn Williams Jr 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 2023-09-20 14:56:14.
Missing : Core Data
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
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Service Details
| This Profile ID | 307344 |
| Service ID | O-807114 |
| Name | William Franklyn Williams Jr |
| From | Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio |
| Birth Date | August 8, 1919 |
| Casualty Date | July 21, 1944 |
| War | World War II |
| Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Specialty | Pilot |
| Unit/Group | 332nd Fighter Group, 301st Fighter Squadron |
| Casualty Type | Non Hostile, Died while Missing, Air Loss, Crash on Land |
| Location | Austria |
| Burial | American Cemetery - Epinal, France, tablets of the missing |
| Notable Awards |
★ Air Medal |
| Remembered | 
William Franklyn Williams Jr is buried or memorialized at American Cemetery - Epinal, France, tablets of the missing. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. |
Additional Details
William Franklyn Williams Jr was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. Williams graduated from flight training on June 30, 1943, at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. In late December, he deployed to Italy with the 301st Fighter Squadron, part of the 332nd Fighter Group. The 301st Fighter Squadron flew its first combat mission on February 4, 1944.On July 21, 1944 he was piloting his P-51C Mustang #42-103558 during a bomber escort mission to an oil refinery near Linz, Austria. Mechanical trouble forced part of the 332nd Fighter Group to return to Ramitelli Air Field in Italy. Flight leader Williams and his wingman moved to join another part of the group when they ran into thick clouds and were seperated from the rest of the flight. Williams was not seen again. |
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
★ 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.Ohio Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of Ohio 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.
▶ Ohio was home to over 28,550 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 4,529 World War I
• 19,067 World War II
• 1,855 Korean War
• 3,099 Vietnam War
• 376 Prisoners of war
• 4,217 Missing in action
• 103 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 245 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 34 Medal of Honor recipients
• 19,067 World War II
• 1,855 Korean War
• 3,099 Vietnam War
• 376 Prisoners of war
• 4,217 Missing in action
• 103 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 245 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 34 Medal of Honor recipients
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Roy "Joker"
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▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
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National Memorial Day Parade with Spirit of 45
On May 27, 2019 the Honor States group was proud to be a part of our premier Memorial Day parade hosted by the District of Columbia and sponsored by the American Veteran Center. Together with Spirit of 45 and dozens of enthusiastic kids, the float and banner in tribute to the fallen at Normandy proved memorable and moving.
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