William Henry Yaeger Jr
Military
USAAF Photo
Object Number - UPL 46856 - Major William H Yeager Jr, 389BG
William Yaeger was the Commanding Officer of the 567th BS, 389th BG, 8AF USAAF.
William Yaeger was taken as a Prisoner of War while on TDY to 9th Air Force for Ploesti raid (Operation 'Tidal Wave') on 1-Aug-43 in B-24 'Boomerang' 42-40115. He was the Command Pilot.
Awards: SS, AM, PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 564th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15045876 / 0-325990
- Highest Rank: Major General
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 389th Bomb Group 2nd Scouting Force 567th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-23828
- Highest Rank: Brigadier General
- Role/Job: Bomber Pilot / Fighter Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 565th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-1699045
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 567th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-438441
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Boomerang
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Berka, al Birkah
- Site type: Cemetery
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
San Antonio, TX | 13 August 1915 | Son of William Henry Sr and Adeline [Small] Yaeger. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Bucharest, Romania | 1 August 1943 | Prisoner of War (POW). Romania. |
|
Died |
San Antonio, TX | 2 January 1962 | |
|
Buried/ Commemorated |
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery | 5 January 1962 | Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas |
|
Other C/O of 567th Bomb Squadron |
1 August 1943 | Assigned to 567BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Commanding Officer 567BS. |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) 99.
Philip Ardery, Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky: 1978) passim.
Brought in information from a duplicate record. Sources:
User 'bombercommand' referenced the Biographical Dictionary of the 8th Air Force 1942-1945
And:
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Who's Who in the Eighth Air Force and/or Biographical Directory Command & Staff Officers Eighth Air Force 1942-45
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 159
