When William Franklin Reynolds was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on August 28, 1913, in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, his father, Ernest, was 30 and his mother, Cora, was 30. He had one brother and two sisters. William graduated from Chapel Hill HS in 1931 and then attended University of NC for 1 year (1931-1932). He then began working in the furniture industry, rising to manage the Carolina Furniture Shops in Greensboro, NC. On February 21, 1942, he enlisted in the US Army at Fort Jackson, Columbia, SC. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a Sergeant in Company I, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was killed in action during the battle for Fosse, Belgium and is now buried in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium. William was never married & had no children. For his service, he earned both the Bronze Star as well as a Purple Heart.