William Gail Mays
MilitaryAssigned to 815BS, 483BG, 15AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Weiner Neustadt in B-17F 42-29856 flak hit, lost two engines and trailing fuel, crew baled out before aircraft exploded. Prisoner of War (POW). 10-May-44. MACR 4836.
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Patches
- Unit: 483rd Bomb Group 815th Bomb Squadron 99th Bomb Group 346th Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Greene County, TN, USA | 14 March 1923 | Son of George E and Nacca [Knight] Mays. |
Enlisted |
Fort Oglethorpe, GA, USA | 11 February 1943 | Fort Oglethorpe Georgia |
Other Shot down / baled out |
Wiener Neustadt, Austria | 10 May 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) Weiner Neustadt in B-17F 42-29856 flak hit, lost two engines and trailing fuel, crew baled out before aircraft exploded. POW. 10-May-44. MACR 4836. |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Tychowo, Poland | 10 May 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft IV. |
Died |
Greeneville, TN, USA | 16 December 2001 | |
Afton, TN 37616, USA | |||
Based |
Tortorella | 10 May 1944 | Assigned to 815BS, 483BG, 15AF USAAF. |
Buried |
Greeneville, TN, USA | GreeneLawn Memory Gardens Greeneville Greene County Tennessee, USA |