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| PFC Charles Williams was a B-17 mechanic in Papua New Guinea. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71504289 |
Charles McDonald Williams never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Charles was born on October 7, 1919 in Reno, Arkansas. His parents Jasper and Velma were both born in Illinois. His father worked as a farmer. Charles had three older sisters, six younger sisters, and two younger brothers. By 1940, Charles had completed seventh grade and was living at home in Tywappity, Missouri and working as a laborer.
He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on 8 December 1941, and sailed for Australia later that month, where he was assigned to the 455th Service Squadron and trained as a mechanic. I can’t find any record of his service, but on 14 June 1943 PFC Williams was a passenger aboard B-17C Flying Fortress 40-2072 “Miss Every Morning Fix’n”, a bomber that had been converted to a transport and was used to ferry American service personnel between New Guinea and Australia for rest and recreation leave.
The aircraft took off from MacKay, Queensland with a crew of six and thirty-five passengers bound for Port Moresby, New Guinea. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft circled back to overfly the airfield, but lost control and crashed about a kilometer from the airfield. PFC Williams and all but one on board the aircraft were killed in the crash, the cause of which was never determined. The sole survivor, Foye Roberts, passed away in February 2004.
Charles McDonald Williams was initially buried in the American Cemetery in Queensland, Australia and was later reinterred in IOOF Cemetery in Charleston, Missouri.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Beaufighter night fighter pilot William Emanuel. You can read about here.
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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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