Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
POWERS, William Bernard Jr - Date of
birth
19 January 1922 -
Age
21 - Place of
birth
Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
11086882 -
Rank
Technical Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator/Gunner -
Unit
558th Bombardment Squadron,
387th Bombardment Group, Medium
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
31 August 1943 - Place of
death
Airfield
Lille, France
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| N | 18 | 12 |
Immediate family
-
Members
William B. Powers (father)
Mary T. (McCann) Powers (mother)
Dorothy M. Powers (sister)
Edmund Powers (brother)
Winfred B. Powers (sister)
Robert Powers (brother)
Patricia A. Powers (sister)
Mary Cronin (halfsister)
Margaret M. Cronin (halfsister)
Joseph D. Cronin (halfbrother)
Kathleen L. (Buddenhagen) Powers (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
41-31653 -
Data
Type: B-26A
Nickname: King Bee
Destination: Lille, France
Mission: Bombing of the airfield
MACR: 471
More information
T/Sgt William B. Powers graduated from Boston College High School and was employed at First National Stores.He volunteered for the Army of the United States in Boston, Massachusetts on 3 August 1942.
Statement from T/Sgt Clinton C. Guy, a crew member of another B-26 in the same group:
"We were over target and bomb-bay doors were just opening. I was facing the rear of our ship, and looking through our front bomb-bay. The lost ship was at that time flying to the right of ours, suddenly, I saw it nose over and as it came into full view, I saw that the rear third of the ship was missing. The remaining section went into a tight spin for about 1500 feet. then went into a flat spin. I followed it visually until the ship was almost to the ground, and knowing the crash was inevitable, turned away."
One crew member survived. He was wounded, taken prisoner and evacuated to the Albert Calmette hospital in Lille. The other five crew members were killed and initially buried at the cemetery of the hospital.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.b26.com, www.adoptiegraven.nl, www.ancestry.com - Family Tree, WWII Draft Card, Florida Marriage Records
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.b26.com, The Boston Globe - 8 September 1944