Memorial

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T/Sgt William E. Brereton joined the U.S. Army Reserve in Detroit, Michigan on 29 August 1942.

The airplane was hit by flak near the No. 3 engine. Ten seconds later the aircraft went into a spin and dived out of control. Three parachutes were seen to come out of the aircraft. From the crew of nine, only the pilot 1st Lt Herbert L. Oas survived and was taken prisoner.

According to German records the killed crew members were buried at the cemetery of Wallendorf, execpt for 2nd Lt William M. Mencow who was buried at the cemetery of Kriegsdorf (about 1 mile the the south).

After the war, the remains of five were never recovered by an American Search and Recovery unit: S/Sgt Theodore Monarcky, S/Sgt John J. Reardon, 2nd Lt William H. Green and T/Sgt William C. Brereton, who are all remembered at the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle. T/Sgt Byron Cook is remembered at the Tablets of the Missing at Luxemburg American Military Cemetery.

An explanation could be that the section of the Wallendorf Cemetery where subject deceased were interred received a direct bomb hit two days after they were interred, which caused a crater 28 to 30 feet wide and 10 to 12 feet deep. Investigation of this crater disclosed the fact that the remains found could not be segregated, making identification impossible.