William K. Scherer was born in 1916 in New York. He resided in Bronx County, New York prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on February 13, 1941, prior to the war, in New York City, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Driver and also as Single, without dependents. William served as a First Lieutenant in the China Air Service Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

William was a passenger on C-46A "Stork" #42-96721 that was assigned to the 1333rd Army Air Force Base Unit, U.S. Army Air Force. C-46A #42-96721 took off, with a crew of 4 and 9 passengers, from Kunming, China on a cargo mission to Chabua, India. They were last contacted by radio and after that were not seen nor heard from again. It was noted that along the route planes were experiencing severe icing. William was declared "Missing In Action" on this mission during the war. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

1Lt Scherer was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also 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