William J Wheeler

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Shot down 4 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24544 'Pennsylvania Polka' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA)

Air Medal, Purple Heart

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

323rd Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

91st Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

41-24544

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Pennsylvania Polka
Unit: 91st Bomb Group 323rd Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Aerial photograph of Bassingbourn airfield looking east, Whaddon is at the top, the bomb dump is to the left of the main runway, which runs vertically; the control tower and technical site with four C-Type hangars is on the right, 23 August 1945. Photograph taken by No. 542 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/692. English Heritage (RAF Photography).

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Limestone County Texas	27 February 1923
Other Killed in Action (KIA)		4 February 1943	Killed when aircraft was shot down by German fighters and crashed into the North Sea. His remains have never been recovered.
Other Commemorated	Netherlands American Cemetery, 6269 NA Migraten, Netherlands		Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery

Event

Location

Date

Description

Born

Limestone County Texas

27 February 1923

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

4 February 1943

Killed when aircraft was shot down by German fighters and crashed into the North Sea. His remains have never been recovered.

Other

Commemorated

Netherlands American Cemetery, 6269 NA Migraten, Netherlands

Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery

Revisions

Date7 Jun 2023 00:31:47

Contributorkatymfolmar

Changes

Sources

I'm the Great- Great niece of Billy Joe, I got the information from my grandmother, his niece.

Date27 Jan 2015 20:23:00

ContributorLee8thbuff

Changes

Sources

Lee Cunningham 27-Jan-2015. Corrected Commemorated event .

Date27 Jan 2015 20:20:54

ContributorLee8thbuff

Changes

Sources

Lee Cunningham 27-Jan-2015. Added decorations and Commemoration event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; added KIA event per MACR 3557 & 4635; made connections to PLace and Mission within existing website data. Added crew position to Biography.

Date27 Sep 2014 18:04:37

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3557 / MACR 3557& 4635, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 72, ABMC web site / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database