William E. Carroll was born on September 9, 1914. He resided in Harris County, Texas prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on April 7, 1942 in Houston, Texas. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in construction and also as Married. William served as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on C-46A #41-24705, 1333rd Army Air Force Base Unit, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

C-46A #41-24705 took off, with a crew of 3, from Chabua, India on a cargo mission to Kunming, China. They were last contacted by radio and they reported turbulent weather and icing conditions. They were not seen nor heard from again. The entire crew was lost. He was declared "Missing in Action" on March 13, 1945 and is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph located in Houston National Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas, USA.

William 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, www.abmc.gov