William Joseph McGowan (1920 - 1944)

Born 26 Jul 1920 in Benson, Minnesota

Ancestors

Husband of Suzanne (Schaefer) Bryan — married 5 Feb 1944 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Died 6 Jun 1944 at age 23 in Moon Sur Elle, France

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Meg McGowan [send private message] and Paul Stouffer [send private message]

Lt. Bill McGowan was Killed in Action in France on D-Day during World War II.

Biography

Lt. William “Bill” J. McGowan was a pilot during World War II. The P-47 he was flying on D-Day, June 6, 1944 was shot down while on a low-level strafing and bombing mission south of the landing beaches in Normandy, France. He did not survive the crash.

Prior to joining the Army Air Corp, McGowan anticipated a career in journalism following in the footsteps of his father Joseph, then publisher and editor of the local newspaper in Benson, Minnesota.^[1][2] After graduating from the University of Missouri’s prestigious School of Journalism in September 1942, McGowan was employed by the United Press in Madison, Wisconsin. This was followed by a stint as editor of the Swift County Monitor-News, his father’s newspaper, before reporting to the Army Air Corps for training in early February, 1943.^[3]

Wartime Service

In December, 1943, McGowan received his 2nd Lieutenant commission and pilot silver wings with the class of 43-K at Eagle Pass. He then went to Harding Field, Baton Rouge, Louisiana for further fighter pilot training in the P-47. While there he married fellow Minnesotan Suzanne Schaefer in a small ceremony at the Harding Field post chapel. In April, 1944 he was deployed with the 366th Fighter Group in England where he commenced his brief career as a “Jug” pilot with the 391st Fighter Squadron.

Lt. McGowan made ten sorties and four combat missions as part of a number of P-47 fighter sweeps over France leading up to the D-Day invasion. "At 3:15 p.m. on June 6, 1944, D-Day, McGowan set out from Royal Air Force Thruxton in Hampshire in southern England on a mission to target the Lison train station and enemy convoys moving northeast toward Bayeux. According to the Missing Air Crew Report given by his wingman, Flight Officer Paul E. Stryker, the next day, after they seized “a target of opportunity” and dropped their fragmentation bombs on a passing German train, McGowan’s Thunderbolt was hit by antiaircraft fire at 500 feet, too low for him to safely parachute from his plane. “I was taking evasive action and about 1000', I noticed his plane was in flames and was going into a spin,” relayed Stryker. “He spun it to the ground and the whole ship burst in to flame.”"^[4]

Although Lt. McGowan's remains were not recovered until August 2018, his dog tags were recovered shortly after the crash. A small memorial to Lt. McGowan continues to be maintained by the wonderful residents of the nearby village of Moon-Sur-Elle, close to the crash site. Not yet 24-years old, Lt. McGowan was posthumously awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart. For many years, he was listed among the Missing in Action at the Garden of the Missing Army-Army Air Forces Tablet 32, at the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.^[5]

Recovery Efforts and Burial

In 1947, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) investigated the crash site near Moon-sur-Elle. Witnesses reported that the aircraft burned for more than a full day after impact and was embedded deeply into the ground. An AGRC team removed wreckage from the impact crater but failed to locate Lt. McGowan’s remains, which were then declared non-recoverable.

In 2010, a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command travelled to Moon-sur-Elle to interview witnesses and survey the crash site. The team found aircraft debris and recommended further excavation. In July and August 2018, a team from the St. Mary’s University Forensic Aviation Archaeological Field School, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, excavated the site under an agreement with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Possible bone material was recovered and sent for analysis. The DPAA completed its identification of Lt. McGowan's remains on May 19, 2019.^[6]

The remains were scheduled to be buried July 26, 2020, on what would have been Lt. McGowan's 100th birthday, at the Normandy American Cemetery in France,^[7] but the burial was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lt. McGowan was buried on July 9, 2022 with"full military honors." Many family members traveled to Normandy for the ceremony. A rosette was placed with his named on the Wall of the Missing to show that he had been identified.^[8]

Video of Burial Ceremony

Sources

• Statement of Paul R. Stryker, FO, RE: Accident of 2nd Lt., Willilam J McGowan, 7 June 1944, copy of Air Corps report, obtained by Paul Stouffer.
• "French Town Honors Benson Fighter Pilot Who Died on D-Day," Swift County Monitor News, Nov. 9, 2011, p. 1.
• Family Group Record prepared by Patricia Bayly for Martin McGowan, @ 1990.
• "World wars claimed Minnesota woman's brother and the son she named after him," Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 23, 2022.

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X3DR-CKQ : 8 December 2015), Joseph Mcgowan, 1930.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSLM-46W : 17 May 2014), William J Mcgowan in household of Joseph Mcgowan, Benson, Benson City, Swift, Minnesota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 76-3B, sheet 5A, family 90, NARA digital publication T627 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012), roll 1963.
3. ↑ "United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMNN-4X6 : 5 December 2014), William J Mc Gowan, enlisted 04 Aug 1942, Ft Leonard Wood, Missouri, 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 126323, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
4. ↑ "The Legacy of the Longest Day," by Jarrett A. Lobell, in Archaeology, July/August 2020.
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #56647557 2Lt William Joseph "Bill" McGowan
6. ↑ "Airman Accounted For From World War II (McGowan, W.)" Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency News Release, May 22, 2019
7. ↑ Personnel Profile: 2D LT WILLIAM J MCGOWAN at Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.
8. ↑ "U.S. Air Force lieutenant killed on D-Day laid to rest in Normandy "with full military honors" nearly 80 years later." by Sophie Reardon, Updated on July 9, 2022/CBS News". on CBS.com