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Wigginton William Edward

Name:
William Edward  Wigginton
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
441st Bomber Squadron, 320th Bomber Group
Date of Death:
1944-07-10
State:
Kentucky
Cemetery:
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri,
Plot:
SECTION 79 SITE 382A-B
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:

William Wigginton was born in August 1923 and was from Scott County, Kentucky. He served as the Co-Pilot on B-26 (42-107566) as part of the 441st Bomber Squadron, 320th Bomber Group. On July 10, 1944, the Group was missioned to bomb the northern span of a railroad bridge in Marzabotto, Italy. Enroute to the target, the plane received a direct hit of anti-aircraft fire. The direct hit blew the left wing and horizontal stabilizer off, sending the plane into an uncontrollable spin and trapping the crew inside. A photographer in a plane above, captured the monument just before the plane’s impending doom; an iconic photo depicting the great sacrifice of the United States Army Air Forces during the war. (See the pictures for this iconic photograph). The B-26, with bombs still aboard crashed into a hill just outside Lamadi Reno. (Reference: Missing Aircraft Report {MACR} 6454)