Lt. Colonel Bailey was born on November 9, 1902. He hailed from Pittsylvania County, Virginia, the southern border of which touches North Carolina. Bill Bailey was one of eleven children. His father, James Robertson Bailey, was born in 1852; he married his first wife, 26 year-old Malissa Wood, in 1882.

Bill began his military service in 1922 when he enlisted in the National Guard. He became a 2nd lieutenant on February 5, 1935 and war promoted to 1st Lieutenant on July 24, 1936, and to Captain on October 19, 1938. In 1937, he completed the National Guard Officers Tank Course.

At some point after 1940, Bill went from the National Guard to the regular Army. Records indicate that on June 19, 1942, he was promoted to the rank of major.

The 35th Tank Battalion is where Lt. Colonel Bailey's war began. After his battalion's successful action at Orleans, France in August 1944, Lt. Colonel Bailey was transferred to command the 704th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Lt. Colonel Delk Oden, who commanded the 704th, took Bailey's place as the commander of the 35th. LTC Bailey was Killed in Action on September 19, 1944 in Luneville, France and is now buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint-Avold, France.

Source of information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/147111312019224/permalink/3156894934374165/