William Forsythe Golden was born on March 12, 1918, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Phoebe L. Forsythe Golden. He was married to Marion Arndt Golden. Before joining the Air Corps in 1942, he served with the Pennsylvania State Police. He served in the 701st Bomb Squadron, 445th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Pilot of B-24 #42-94863 nicknamed "Ole Baldy" during World War II.

On September 27, 1944, the crew of the B-24 Ole Baldy of the 445th Bomb Group took part in a major Allied mission to bomb armored vehicle factories in Kassel, Germany. Heavy cloud cover and a navigational error caused their group to veer off course and mistakenly bomb farmland near Göttingen. Separated from the main formation and without fighter escort, they were left dangerously exposed on the return flight to England. German Luftwaffe fighters soon intercepted the isolated bombers, attacking from below where the aircraft were most vulnerable, especially because the ball turrets had been removed to carry additional bombs. The assault tore through the formation, destroying many aircraft and leaving only four B-24s able to return to England. Ole Baldy suffered severe damage during the attack, losing multiple engines and critical systems, including communications. With the aircraft failing and unable to stay aloft, the crew was forced to abandon the plane. Despite the chaos and danger, most of the men successfully parachuted to the ground, where they were captured and became prisoners of war.

2Lt Golden was Killed in Action in the incident and is now buried in the Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, Pleasant Hills, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, nhdsilentheroes.org