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| Lt. William Vroom was a B-26 pilot who served with the 19th Bombardment Squadron (different crew shown in photo). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136573560 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/366902700872585767/ |
William Wentworth Vroom never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 3, 1917 in Massachusetts. His mother Lillian was also born in Massachusetts and his father Frank was born in Canada. His father worked as a print shop manager and later was the assistant president of a printing office. William was an only child. By 1940 William was a graduate of Dartmouth University.
He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on November 25, 1940. As an aviation cadet he learned how to fly B-26 Marauders. By July 1941 he was stationed in Riverside, California. William married Susanne Cooke in February 1942. Shortly thereafter he was shipped out to Australia where he became a first lieutenant in the 19th Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group. It operated out of Townsville and later Woodstock where it attacked targets in New Guinea and New Britain.
Modern readers may find it fitting that someone with the name of Vroom would become an airplane pilot. From what I have found, Vroom did not have the popular meaning of motion until the 1960's.
Lt. Vroom death was not flying related. He died after falling down a flight of stairs in Brisbane, Australia.
His grave is at Exeter Cemetery in New Hampshire. William's widow remarried and died in 1999.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
Thank you to Marc Kenton of the Allied Warbirds and Pilots of WWII Facebook group who was able to tell me that Lt. Vroom died after falling down some stairs in a building in Brisbane, Australia.
ReplyDeleteHere is an article on his death
ReplyDeletehttps://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/202380808?searchTerm=Fell%20down%20stairs&searchLimits=l-state=Queensland%7C%7C%7Cl-category=Article%7C%7C%7Cl-decade=194%7C%7C%7Cl-year=1942%7C%7C%7Cl-month=8
Also from Peter Dunn:
ReplyDelete1st Lt. William W. Vroom, 0-420676, a Protestant, was buried in the Ipswich UASF Cemetery on 25 August 1942, with Captain Municon as the officiating clergyman and Sgt F. Thorne the Undertaker.
Two slides from one of my WWII talks that I deliver showing details of the military morgue that he probably was taken to before embalming and burial at Ipswich. Here’s details on the cemetery
http://www.ozatwar.com/locations/uscemeteryipswich.htm
His body was later exhumed and returned to Hawaii and then to cemetery nominated by his family.
Regards Peter Dunn
WWII Self Help Research Tool for Australian Military Records
"Australia @ War"
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