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| PFC William McDonald served with the 92nd Infantry Division in Italy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141671856/william-h-mcdonald https://comptonherald.org/remembrance-92nd-infantry-vanished-without-honor/ |
William H. McDonald never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June 29, 1919 in North Carolina. The records linked to his name may not be accurate. If they are, they tell a very unusual story. The 1930's census shows a 11 year old William McDonald living with his 70 year old father Andy and his 27 year old mother Sarah in Nulato, Alaska. The same census shows he had two younger sisters and a younger brother. The oldest three children are listed as mixed race and the youngest as white. Perhaps the older children had a different father. Andy was from Canada. The census listed his occupation as follows:
If anyone can make out what it is, let me know! William completed one year of high school and found work as a janitor.
While living in Pennsylvania, he was drafted into the army on April 9, 1941. He became a private first class in the segregated black Company C, 1st Battalion, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division. His unit was sent to Sardinia in April 1944 where it was first assigned to airfield security duties there and in other Italian locations. In November 1944 it was sent to to the front to join the fighting. The 92nd ID was plagued by low moral and malingering and had a less than stellar reputation in engaging with the enemy. Perhaps treating people like second class citizens gets second class results. The American military would not even consider sending blacks into battle until the second half of 1944, under pressure from black communities.
During the later part of January 1945 the situation in the 366th IR's sector was static with no major efforts by either side. PFC McDonald was killed in action on January 28, 1945, one of nearly 3,000 battle casualties suffered by the 92nd ID during the war. Two 92nd ID soldiers were belatedly awarded the Medal of Honor in 1997.
His grave is at White Oak AME Zion Cemetery in Sanford, North Carolina.
Last year on this date I profiled B-24 pilot Walter White. You can read about Walter here.
Slim Pickens
The western character actor Slim Pickens (real name Louis Lindley, Jr.) was born on the same day as William McDonald. Louis was born in California and from an early age excelled as a horse rider. Rather than working on the family dairy farm, the teen Louis preferred roping cattle and bronco busting. His father disapproved of his dangerous horse work, telling him such pursuits when yield slim pickings. Not wanted to get discovered, Louis entered a local rodeo using the name Slim Pickens. He won $400, a sizable prize in the 1930s. He found a niche as a rodeo clown.
When WW2 started, Slim decided to join the US Army. The recruiter asked if he had any skills and Slim said "rodeo." The army misheard this as 'radio' and he spent the whole war working at stateside radio stations.
After the war he continued his rodeo career, but by 1950 he leveraged his horsemenship skills in western roles in movies. Slim appeared in dozens of films. His best roles were in the movies Dr. Strangelove and Blazing Saddles (a role that was first offered to John Wayne). He died in 1983.
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| https://www.pinterest.com/pin/359302876500280279/ |
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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