Hession William J.

Name:

William J. Hession

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

O-699167

Unit:

579th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group, Heavy

Date of Death:

1944-07-13

State:

Illinois

Cemetery:

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri

Plot:

Section 82

Row:

Grave:

53

Decoration:

Purple Heart

Comments:

William J. Hession was born on August 20, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the son of Patrick Hession and Nora Stephens Hession.

At the time of his death, William was serving in the 579th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator on the B-24J #42-95103 'Berlin Bitch' during World War II. On July 13, 1944, his airplane took off from RAF Wendling (Norfolk, England), assigned to bomb a target at Saarbrucken, Germany. The squadron encountered problems forming up during assembly before setting off on the raid. This aircraft suffered severe icing and spun in, crashing at Wrangle Common, Lincolnshire, England. 8 of the 9 crew on board were killed, only the left waist gunner S/Sgt Mark Osment was able to bale out and survived. The aircraft burned out on the ground, the bombs aboard the aircraft did not explode. When the fire died out, the bombs were disposed of, and the crash site was bulldozed in.

2Lt Hession is now buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA, in the same grave with 1Lt Hunt, TSgt McKinzie, and TSgt Wilkinson.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com