William A Adams
Military
Back row, from left to right :
1st Lt. Milton Marion “Milt” Stenstrom (Pilot), 1st Lt. Robert L. "Rob" Carlberg (Copilot), 1st Lt. Ewart Theodore "Sconnie" Sconiers (Bombardier), 1st Lt. Harold "Harry" "Shorty" Spire (Navigator).
Bottom Row, from left to right:
Sgt. James C. "Jim" Simmons (Tail Gunner), Sgt. Thomas C. "Tom" Calhoun (Waist Gunner), Staff Sgt. William A. "Bill" Adams (Radio Operator), Sgt. William E. "Bill" Schimke (Ball Turret Gunner), Sgt. John M. Hughes (Waist Gunner), Staff Sgt. Roy T. Nalley (Engineer / Top Turret Gunner).
(Photo courtesy of Fredrick Richard "Rick" Flack)
Updated by Fredrick Richard "Rick" Flack on July 29, 2020.
Object Number - UPL 30635 - The B-17F JOHNNY REB JR. or II (41-24443) crew on the October 21, 1942 97th BG Mission #16. Back row, from left to right : 1st Lt. Milton Marion...
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Radio Operator, Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
![Ground personnel of the 97th Bomb Group reservice a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-9023) nicknamed "Yankee Doodle", following the raid on Rouen. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 18 Aug 1942.' [stamp], 'Air=SER (Boeing).' [written annotation] and '216112.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'U.S FLYING FORTRESSES RAID ROUEN IN DAYLIGHT. Associated Press Photo Shows: No sooner had one of the huge Fortresses landed after the raid than ground crew im](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379318.jpg.webp?itok=n7iztoxa)
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force Twelfth Air Force Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34199059
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-442752
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12036569
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15067557
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16061443
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
![A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-9089) nicknamed "Johnny Reb" of the 92nd Bomb Group, formerly of the 97th Bomb Group takes off. Image stamped on reverse: 'New York Times Photo.' [stamp], 'Air (Boeing) FLY.' [annotation] and '219847.'[Censor no.] A printed caption was previously attached the the reverse however this has been lost. Handwritten caption on reverse: '4/9/42, marsh ground. Johnny Reb.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379328.jpg.webp?itok=xODFO8UW)
Missions
- Date: 21 October 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Georgia, United States | 21 May 1921 | The son of William A. Adams |
|
Enlisted |
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | 30 November 1940 | as a Private in the Air Corps |
|
Other Captured |
Quimper, France | 21 October 1942 | after the ditching of B-17F 41-24443 off the coast of Brittany, France and being rescued by a French fishing boat which brought him and 8 other crew members to shore. |
|
Other Prisoner Of War (POW) |
Braunau, Austria | 21 October 1942 - 22 September 1944 | Initially interned at Stalag XVIIB (Barracks 15B) in Braunau-Gneikendorf, Austria, ended up at Stalag 4D/Z in Annaburg, Sachsen, Prussia (Torgau, Saxony), Germany. NARA WWII POW Records : "Returned to Allied Military Control 22 September 1944." This RMC date probably indicates that he was wounded and was returned to US forces in a Prisoner Exchange Program. This sometimes occurred, possibly for humanitarian reasons, but probably because the Germans did not want any wounded POW to take up hospital space that could be used for their own wounded. |
|
Died |
Greenville, South Carolina, United States | 3 February 1997 | |
| Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina, United States | with his stepfather William Alva Swaffar [widower of Leila B. (Howard) Swaffar who died in October 1913, aged 27] and his stepmother Edna B. (Tate) Swaffar, who had been married first to Lawrence C. Tate before marrying William A. Adams, father of the airman, and marrying a third time, to William Swaffar... | ||
| Easley, Pickens County, South Carolina, United States | working as a truck driver in a lumber yard | ||
|
Buried |
Robinson Memorial Gardens, Easley, South Carolina, United States |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
NARA WWII Enlistment Records
NARA WWII POW Records
US Censuses 1920, 1930 and 1940
VA Gravesite Locator
Lee Cunningham 22-Nov-2014. Added POW event. National Archives Records Administration. (NARA) WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 28-Oct-2014. "losses of the 8th 7 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & john A. Hey MBE; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol 1, pp 38-39 by Bishop and Hey