William had joined the Army and reported for basic training on December 23, 1939. He was 23 years old. On December 7, 1941, he was stationed at Camp Murry Washington. He was in the 153rd Infantry Division at the base.
He eventually found himself in the Aleutian Islands. He was an MP and also an infantryman on the islands of Adak, Umnak, and Kiska. These islands were cold and windy most of the time. When it wasn’t snowing, it was raining. When the weather became somewhat warmer, the runways and base caps became seas of mud. It was a remote outpost but an important one. The Japanese had landed on several islands at the start of the war in an attempt to secure their northern flank. The US Army and Navy finally pushed out the Japanese and the Americans began building additional runways and improved living conditions for their military personnel stationed there.
William’s most memorable experience was when a Japanese Zero fighter flew over the base on the island of Umnak. He and many others grabbed whatever weapon that was near at hand and shot at the enemy plane. It’s not known whether the plane was actually hit.
William made a career out of the Army, retiring at the age of 47 on March 31, 1963. He had attained the rank of E-6 Sergeant.
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