William N. Anderson (1918 - 1944)

Born 29 Apr 1918 in Illinois, United States

Died 21 Jan 1944 at age 25 in France

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Biography

William Anderson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States).

William Anderson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States).

William Anderson was awarded the Purple Heart.

William Anderson was awarded the Air Medal.

Major William Anderson served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II
Service started: 11 Sep 1940
Unit(s): 66th and 67th Bombardment Squadrons, 44th Bombardment Group, Ninth Air Force
Service ended: 21 Jan 1944

Major William Anderson was killed by flak aboard B-24 Bomber, Liberty Belle during World War II.

William was born 29 April 1918. He was the son of Henry David Anderson and Clara Vanzhan.

He married Ruth Ann Speegle on 25 October 1941 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.^[1]

William was the pilot of the B-24 Liberator bomber, Lynn Bari II - #42-40172-C, participating in Operation Tidal Wave the low-level attack on the Romanian oil refineries at Ploesti on 1 August 1943. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for the mission.

He was Killed in Action while serving as the Command Pilot aboard Liberty Belle #42-99970, flying a mission on 21 January 1944 against military installations, near Agathe D’Aliermont, France.^[2]

Find A Grave: Memorial #125536448

• 1920 - Decatur Township, Macon, Illinois, United States.^[3]
• 1930 - Taylorville, Christian, Illinois, United States.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ "Iowa, Marriage Records, 1941-1951", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6CZ4-4J6Z : 8 April 2021), William Newton Anderson, 1941.
2. ↑ 44th Bomb Group Roll of Honor and Casualties, Compiled by Will Lundy Originally published in 1987 Updated and re-released in 2005 (Index Here)
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJH9-JYG : 1 February 2021), William Anderson in entry for Henry D Anderson, 1920.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSRJ-LC7 : accessed 15 November 2021), Billy Anderson in household of Henry D Anderson, Taylorville, Christian, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 35, sheet 11A, line 9, family 280, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 411; FHL microfilm 2,340,146.

• "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMX5-MD8 : 5 December 2014), William N Anderson, enlisted 11 Sep 1940, East St Louis, Illinois, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
• Taylorville Flier Awarded Air Medal, The Decatur Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, 25 Jun 1943, Fri • Page 7
• Youthful Veterans, The Decatur Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, 19 Aug 1943, Thu • Page 6
• Decatur Flyers in Ploesti Raid, The Decatur Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, 10 Nov 1943, Wed • Page 16
• Last Mission Ends Fatally, The Decatur Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, 03 Feb 1944, Thu • Page 10
• American Air Museum in Britain - William N Anderson
• National Archives, Missing Air Crew Reports - MACR 8714