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William J. Myers enlsited on 30 January 1941 at Pittsburgh, Pa. and was stationed at Lowry Field, Denver, Colo., for some time. After becoming a sergeant, he applied for officers training and attended the school at Miami Beach, Fla., receiving his commission on 28 October 1942. He was statistical officer at Stockton Field, Calif., for eight months, but was not content with being a ground officer and sought a pilot's wings. On 10 June 1943, he began his course as a student officer in flight training and was graduated as a pilot on 8 February 1944, at Douglas, Arizona.
So great was his desire to fly that he persisted despite friendly suggestions by his family and medical officer that perhaps his eyes weren't quite what they should be. By this time he had begun to wear glasses. After a leave spent in Titusville in February, he went to Kingman, Arizona, Salt Lake City in Utah and Rapid City in South Dakota. On 26 June he started toward Europe as a co-pilot of a B-17 crew, and flew low over Titusville en route to an eastern air base. He arrived in England a few days later and received further combat flight training during July. The last letter received by his wife was written 3 August, and in it he said: "We are going out again tomorrow."
He was born in Titusville and attended city schools, being graduated from Titusville High School in 1936, a leader in the affairs of his class. He was employed by R.D. Pringle, former Ford dealer, and then took a course in welding at Cleveland, following which he worked for a short time at Struthers Wells. In 1937 he took a job with a subsidiary fo the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and went to a refinery at Aruba, Netherlands West Indies, where he was located for two years, coming back to Titusville soon after war in Eurpe broke out in the fall of 1939. Most of the time from then until his enlistment he was employed by the Atlantic Refining Company in Philadelphia. He was married at Denver, Colorado on 7 November 1942 to Patricia McGrath, shortly after receiving his commission. He was a member of the First Methodist church of Titusville. He also belonged to the local lodge of Elks and to the Y.M.C.A.

A/C 43-37909 was hit by flak, nosed over and collided with another plane. Lt Ingerson and Sgt Rachak were able to bail out over sea before the A/C went into a dive, that trapped the rest of the crew inside. 2nd Lt Walthall was able to bring the plane back under control and landed on the East Frisian Island of Borkum, Germany. After landing the remaining 7 crew members were captured and taken to the Ostland Flak Battery. Following their interrogation, the crew was ordered to march through the town of Borkum, with their hands up, to an airfield on the southern end of the island. During this march they were abused and assaulted by civilians and workers of the Reichs Arbeits Dienst (similar to the US's Civilian Construction Corps).
A German soldier, a private of the Wehrmacht, who had lost his family during an earlier raid on Hamburg, also heard of the column of American airmen making its way through town. He was filled with rage and saw an opportunity to avenge the deaths of his wife and three children. The German private, Erich Langer, set out to intercept the Americas and caught up with the group of airmen. He shot all 7 men, without being intervened by the guards that accompanied the crew.
Meanwhile Lt Ingerson and Sgt Rachak were taken prisoner. Lt Ingerson landed near a German Panzer (armored) unit and was initially placed at Stalag III. Sgt Rachak was captured by a "home guard" unit and was being transported to Stalag IV. Early 1945 both Stalag III and IV were evacuated and the men had to march through the cold winter to other POW camps. Both Lt Ingersonand Sgt Rachak however survived the war and, eventually, were repatriated to the USA.
Following the war, civilians and military personnel were taken into custody and charged with violating the "Customs of War" and the Geneva Convention Article 2, for their assault and murder on the 7 POW. Three defendants were sentenced the death, others received prison sentences, some to life.