 who identified it and posted it on the Fields of Honor-Database |
Remember...Jack Oswald Williams
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Jack Oswald Williams was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 4, 1922. His parents were Joseph S. Williams and Carrie Williams. Jack had three siblings: brothers Orville and Joseph and sister Marguerite. The family spent the children's formative years in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, where Jack completed high school.
While the 1940 Federal Census shows Jack as a laborer in the retail furniture industry, when he registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, he stated that he worked at the Wheeling Stamping Company. According to the Ohio County Public Library website, the company was founded in 1877 and was in the early twentieth century one of Wheeling's largest employers. It manufactured lanterns, lamp burners, lithographic tinware, and metal specialties. The company continued production through 1991, although in later years it focused primarily on metal and plastic tubes for the toothpaste industry. ("Wheeling Stamping Co.," accessed 27 September 2022, https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/history/wheelig-stamping-co./3049.)
When Jack Oswald Williams was called up to serve his country, he enlisted on September 10, 1942, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was assigned to the 410th Bomber Squadron, 94th Bomber Group, Heavy, of the 8th Air Force.
The 94th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was constituted in January of 1942 and activated in June of that year at MacDill Field in Florida. Initial training took place at Pendleton Field, Oregon, starting June 29, 1942, with flight training at Davis-Monthan Field in Arizona from August 28 through October 31, 1942. Additional training took place at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas, and final (advanced) training at Pueblo, Colorado, from January through March of 1943. The air echelon began moving to Bassingbourn, England, in April of 1943.
The 410th Bomb Squadron was one of four units of the 94th Bombardment Group. The Group flew 324 missions from May 13, 1943, to April 21, 1945. It dropped 18,924 tons of bombs while losing 153 aircraft. The 94th's first mission was to bomb an airdrome at St. Omer in June of 1943. On D-Day (June 6, 1944), the Group supported the invading troops; they were also involved in targeting the combat area during the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944-January 1945). Primarily, though, their missions targeted industrial plants both before and after D-Day. After Victory in Europe (VE) Day, the Group was assigned to drop leaflets to occupied territories and to displaced people in Germany. The Group was deactivated in December 1945. ("94th Bomb Group," American Air Museum in Britain website, accessed 30 September 2022, https://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/548.)
On September 11, 1944, Second Lieutenant Jack O. Williams was bombardier on a B-17G nicknamed "Erie Ferry" with a destination of Bohlen, Germany, to bomb an oil refinery. It was just two years and one day after his enlistment, and it would be his last day. His place of death is listed as Glenhausen, Germany. Second Lieutenant Thomas C. S. Houser made the following statement about the mission:
One minute after bombs away, while executing a sharp turn off the target, this aircraft slid over and hit A/C #153, another aircraft in the same group, breaking the latter in two near the ball turret. A/C 653 had nose pushed in but continued to fly back and forth over the target area. Four chutes were observed, but it is not known which aircraft they came from.Considerable propwash was encountered from Belgium coast into target. Another Group of B-17's ran a collision course to our group while on the bomb run. The high group of the Wing running collision course, flew directly through our formation.
These incidents probable [sic] had a tiring and straining effect on all pilots and can be considered as a contributory cause of the collision. ("Williams, Jack O.," Fields of Honor -- Database, accessed 30 September 2022, https://www.fieldsofhonor-database.com/index.php/en/american-war-cemetery-ardennes-w/55200-williams-jack-o.)
| Lieutenant Williams was buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium, Plot C, Row 38, Grave 14. Posthumously, he was awarded the Purple Heart. |  |
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure, who gratefully acknowledges the contributions of Terry Hirsch and the Fields of Honor-Database
October 2022
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
