William Henry “Bill” Traeger was born on February 28, 1912, in Bellevue, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Charles H. Traeger. He was the husband of Virginia Clare "Ginny" Meekin Traeger Ressegieu. He attended schools at various Army posts before spending a year at Ohio State University, during which he secured his West Point appointment from Illinois, graduating in 1937. He began his Army career with the 29th Infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia, and in 1939, he joined the 43rd Infantry, Philippine Scouts.

When war broke out, Bill served on Bataan as a battalion operations officer and later commander, surviving both the Death March and held as a prisoner of war at PW Camp #2 in Davao, Mindanao, until December 1944, when he was placed aboard the Oryoku Maru en route to Japan, which was sunk by American aircraft at Subic Bay on December 15, 1944, and he lost his life in the attack.

Maj Traeger's name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org