William Harold Maddox

Military
media-15026.jpeg UPL 15026 Bill Maddox at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, about 1943. 47th Bomb Group, 86th Squadron.

letter dated 11/21/1942 written in Eye, England.

Object Number - UPL 15026 - Bill Maddox at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, about 1943. 47th Bomb Group, 86th Squadron.

In Bill's own words:

"I was in England for two or three weeks on the way to North Africa during WWII."



"I flew a A-20 from Goose Bay to BW1 [Bluie West 1] Greenland to Iceland to Prestwick, Scotland and to Eye, England. The invasion of North Africa occurred while I was in Iceland."



"It was hard not to get lost in a strange town with no lights on anywhere." [V-Mail sent from England dated 21 November 1942]



"The operations officer took over my airplane to fly to North Africa on Invasion day and I proceeded to go with 4 officers and 100 men by ship through Gibraltar to Algiers and then by rail to Casa Blanca where my squadron was located."



Bill was part of the 47th Bomb Group, 86th Bomb Squadron of the US Army Air Corps. He served in the military after WWII and retired a Lieutenant Colonel.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

A-26 Invaders, including (serial number 43-22575) of the 47th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force lined up in Italy.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
  • Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
  • Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Places

Eye, home of the 490th Bomb Group, photographed from the air. Image via Mark Brown, AFA. Written on slide casing: 'Eye from air.'
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Brome

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Paducah, KY, USA 6 July 1917

Enlisted

6 November 1941 Enlisted in the Air Corps in Jackson, Mississippi, as an Aviation Cadet.

Based

Eye 21 November 1942 Awaiting transportation to North Africa.
Foggia FG, Italy 18 October 1943 - 13 November 1943 Based at Vincenzo Airfield, a satellite airfield of Foggia.

Died

Nashville, TN, USA 23 March 2016

Based

Prestwick Landed at Prestwick, Scotland on the Northern Ferry route.

Other

Travelled by ship to Algiers

Algiers, Algeria

Other

Travelled by train to Casablanca

Casablanca, Morocco Joined up with squadron
Memphis, TN, USA Lived in Memphis, TN, when enlisted then returned there after having lived all over the world with the USAF. Living in Nashville, TN, USA, in 2015.
England, UK Exact dates not known

Revisions

Date
Contributordecwriter
Changes
Sources

NARA file verified AM w/4 oak leaf clusters.

Date
ContributorJMMortenson
Changes
Sources

The Tennessean newspaper obituary

Date
ContributorJMMortenson
Changes
Sources

Obituary, The Tennessean newspaper, Nashville, TN

Date
ContributorJMMortenson
Changes
Sources

Clarification.

Date
ContributorJMMortenson
Changes
Sources

Ancestry.com

Date
ContributorJMMortenson
Changes
Sources

Personal knowledge.

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources
Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Correspondence with Julia Maddox Mortenson, William H Maddox's niece.

Date
ContributorJMMortenson
Changes
Sources

V-Mail dated 11/21/1942 written in Eye, England.

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Correspondence with Julia Maddox Mortenson, William H Maddox's niece.

William Harold Maddox: Gallery (2 items)