Auston William Thomas, Jr.

Name:

William Thomas, Jr. Auston

Rank:

Second Lieutenant

Serial Number:

Unit:

66th Bomber Squadron, 44th Bomber Group, Heavy

Date of Death:

1979-07-03

State:

Texas

Cemetery:

Resthaven Cemetery, Quitaque, Briscoe County

Plot:

Section 4, Section 4, Block 7, Lot 3

Row:

Grave:

Decoration:

Comments:

William Thomas Auston, Jr. was born on January 10, 1914, in Texas. He was the son of William Thomas Auston and Mary Eliza Graham Auston. He was married to Mary Agnes Bean Auston.

William served in the 66th Bomber Squadron, 44th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator during World War II. On January 3, 1943, on B-24D #41-23771, while serving as Navigator, the aircraft made a crash-landing near Little Newcastle, Wales, when it ran out of fuel upon return from a mission to St. Nazaire, France. He was uninjured and Returned to Duty (RTD).

On May 17, 1943, aboard B24-D #42-40130 "Avenger II" while serving as Navigator, the aircraft developed engine trouble on a mission to Bordeaux, France. The pilot made the decision to fly the aircraft to Lugo-de-Llanera airfield at Asturias, Spain and the entire crew was interned. They were taken to Gibraltar and returned to Wales on August 8, 1943.

2Lt Auston died on July 3, 1979, at the age of 65, in Amarillo, Texas. He is now buried in the Resthaven Cemetery, Quitaque, Briscoe County, Texas, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com