William Jackson Coffman was born on November 12, 1917 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri. He resided in New Mexico prior to the war. William served as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator on B-17F (#42-5908), 561st Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Forces during World War

William was declared "Missing In Action" when his B-17 was involved in a mid air coll with B-17 (#42-30370) and crashed into the North Sea during the war. He was declared "Missing in Action" on July 29, 1943 and is commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom. He was one of the many brave Americans of the 388th Bomber Group who lost their lives in aerial operations against the German forces from June 1943 - August 1945.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov