William Wesley Dickerson was born on July 8, 1924 in Oklahoma. He was the son of James Esthel Dickerson and Nellie Martha Coppock Dickerson. He served in the United States Naval Reserve as a Storekeeper 2nd Class Petty Officer during World War II. William was aboard the USS LST 507 and was killed during the Exercise Tiger--one of the large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This took place in April 1944 in Slapton Sands, Devon in the UK. An Allied naval convoy involved in the exercise was attacked by German submarines, and coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire deaths. At least 749 American servicemen were killed. Because of the impending invasion of Normandy, the incident was highly classified and the full story did not come out until years later after the war. SK2 Dickerson is now buried in the Olathe Cemetery, Olathe, Montrose County, Colorado, USA.