William Ernest Fowler was born on November 24, 1923, in Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota. He was the son of John William Fowler and Goldie Mildora Trude Fowler. He was married to Helen Marie Ochs Maunu. He served in the 786th Bomber Squadron, 466th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Flight Engineer of B-24J #42-110188 during World War II.

On February 6, 1945, B-24 #42-110188, piloted by 2nd Lt. Byron R. Johnson, took part in Eighth Air Force Mission 821, a major bombing operation over Germany. Poor weather obscured the primary oil targets, forcing the B-24 formations to attack secondary objectives instead. Of the 434 Liberators dispatched, 418 bombed the marshalling yards at Magdeburg using H2X radar. After completing the bombing mission, Johnson and his crew began the return flight to England. While flying over western Germany, their B-24 was struck by German anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft was severely damaged and could no longer remain airborne, eventually crashing near Bruckhausen in Germany's Lower Rhine region. B-24 #42-110188 was one of only two Liberators lost from the 434 dispatched on the mission that day. Of the nine men aboard, five managed to escape the stricken bomber by parachute. They survived but landed in German-held territory and were captured as prisoners of war. The remaining four crewmen were killed in the loss of the aircraft.

TSgt Fowler was among the crewmen killed in action in the loss of the aircraft. He is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Neuville-en-Condroz, Liège, Belgium. He also has a cenotaph in the Riverside Memorial Park, Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota, USA.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, www.aircraftinformation.info, weremember.abmc.gov