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Brenner William J.

Name:
William J. Brenner
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
492nd Bombardment Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group
Date of Death:
1944-07-23
State:
Pennsylvania
Cemetery:
Saint Mary's Cemetery, Hanover, Pennsylvania
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:

William J. Brenner was born on August 15, 1917 in Pennsylvania. 2nd Lt. Brenner died piloting B-24J #42-100239, assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 492nd Bombardment Squadron. The bomber was nicknamed "Paulette" after movie star Paulette Goddard, who had christened the plane three months earlier when she visited the Pandaveswar India airbase on an entertainment tour.

At the time the squadron was being used to fly fuel and supplies from India over the Himalayas to the Chinese and United States Army Air Forces based in China.

On July 23, 1944, while on a gas hauling mission Lt. Brenner and his crew encountered storms, and the plane lost an engine. They were unable to maintain altitude so had to bail out. Brenner stayed at the controls to allow the other seven men to bail out and was unable to escape himself before the plane crashed. His final words to the crew were "I will circle the ship so we will land close together. Good luck."

William is now buried in the Saint Mary's Cemetery, Hanover, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA. He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com