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| Cpl. William Ford was a mechanic for the planes in the 24th Pursuit Group in the Philippines. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/54235788/william-gerald-ford https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Far_East_Air_Force_(United_States) |
William Gerald Ford never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
William was born on March 23, 1920 in Ohio. His parents James and Cecile were also both born in Ohio. By 1930 his parents were separated and William lived with his mother and younger brother. His mother worked in a cigar factory. His father likely died in the 1930s.
William enlisted in the army in August 1939. He became a corporal in the 48th Materiel Service Maintenance Squadron where he worked as an airplane mechanic. The 48th MSMS was based at Fort McKinley in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II and supported the 24th Pursuit Group. Cpl. Ford arrived in Manilla in November 1941.
Corporal Ford died in a Manila hospital on April 17, 1942. At that point, Manila was in Japanese hands. I don't know the circumstances of his death.
His grave is at Memorial Park Cemetery and Mausoleum in Lima, Ohio.
Last year on this date I profiled Battle of the Bulge fallen Glinn Sanders, 26th Infantry Division. You can read about Glinn 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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