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name
NATION, William Hunter - Date of
birth
28 August 1919 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas -
Hometown
Arlington, Tarrant County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-1287569 -
Rank
Captain -
Function
unknown -
Unit
HQ Company,
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment
-
Awards
Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
31 January 1945 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Lanzerath-Losheim, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 10 | 49 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Edward G. Nation (father)
Lillian (Hunter) Nation (mother)
Margaret L. Nation (sister)
Fay Nation (sister)
Edward G. Nation (brother)
Ruth D. Nation (sister)
Joseph B. Nation (brother)
David Nation (brother)
Virginia E. Nation (sister)
Richard C. Nation (brother)
Donna S. Nation (sister)
More information
Capt William H. Nation graduated from Arlington High School and attended North Texas Agricultural College. He was employed at Packard Dallas Insurance Company.He enlisted from Dallas, Texas on 14 January 1941 and trained at Camps Bowie and Blanding and Fort Benning and was sent to Ireland in January 1944. He participated in the landing on D-Day and in Operation Market-Garden in Holland.
Capt Nation was an ardent photographer using his 8-mm movie camera in a wide variety of situations. Not only did he capture special moments as the 508th was in training, he managed to continue to do so in France, Holland and Belgium. Those scenes coupled with candid shots of many of the 508th's best known personalities as well as unidentified troopers make this contribution priceless. Unfortunately, Capt Nation was killed on 31 January 1945 when a German .88 shell hit the building he was in.
He is remembered at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, WW2memorial, NARA, WW2Airborne, www.ancestry.com - 1920/1930/1940 Census / Wilson Family Tree
Photo source: Eddy Lamberty, Siem Voogt, www.findagrave.com - Donald Ward, North Texas Agricultural College 1940