William Guthrie Kincaid

Military
media-53587.jpeg UPL 53587 William G. Kincaid, trumpeter, with his Army Air Corps band buddies in Florida at Tyndall Field. 97th Bomb Group collection

This photo was among the few photos my father kept from his Army Air Corps days.

Object Number - UPL 53587 - William G. Kincaid, trumpeter, with his Army Air Corps band buddies in Florida at Tyndall Field.

Born in Huntington WV, although once he was out of Huntington he expressed a desire to not return.



Pops grew up hanging around his father's car dealership. He also earned a single engine pilot's license as a young man.



Bill Kincaid left Marshall College in 1942, and later moved to Chicago where he got married and worked in a machine shop. He found himself drafted into the Marine Corps in late 1943, and strategically enlisted in the Army Air Corps before the date he was supposed to show up to be enlisted as a Marine.



Bill was in the 97th Bomber Group, and flew in a B17. He went to a base in England to Foggia, Italy, and then got to go home after he'd done his mandatory number of combat missions. Bill then went to Tyndall Field where he became an instructor on the weaponry of the B24 aircraft - although he always contended the B17 was a better plane. He was a musician at heart and best enjoyed his opportunities to play jazz trumpet with Special Services. Serving as the base bugler, Bill had to get up a little early but could crawl back into bed after waking everyone else up with "Revielle". He never talked much about his military service other than descriptions of the makeshift comforts of his tent at the base in Foggia, and an Italian POW who helped him keep an old scooter running for trips around the base.



All Bill ever wanted out of the Air Corps was, in his words, his "ass in one piece". He got that and lived until 1996.

Connections

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Units served with

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
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Places

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Foggia "Gino Lisa" Airport

Revisions

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From the few personal wartime photos saved by William G. Kincaid.

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William G. Kincaid did not talk much about the war or keep many photos, so the few he kept were evidently important to him.

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Bill Kincaid was my father.

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Bill Kincaid was my father and I have the records of his service during WWII.

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Bill Kincaid was my father, and like many of his generation, not a big talker, but he at least kept his Army Air Corps paperwork so we could learn a little something about his military service.

William Guthrie Kincaid: Gallery (6 items)