William Fredrick Traupe, Jr. was born on March 19, 1919. He was the son of William Traupe and Emily Traupe.

William, Jr. served in the 359th Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group, as a Captain and Pilot of the P-51 #44-63250 during World War II. While flying over Germany on February 20, 1945, Capt. Traupe's plane was damaged by heavy flak at about 15,000 ft. Other members of his flight saw that his plane was damaged along the ventral section, covered with oil, and smoking badly. Capt. Traupe headed west managing to keep the aircraft under control until some ten minutes later when it caught fire and began to dive. He jettisoned the canopy and bailed out, probably at under 500 ft. His parachute was seen out of the pack but not opened as he hit the ground. The plane hit close to him and exploded. Capt. Traupe's plane crashed near Kirn, Germany. He is now buried in the Highland Park Cemetery, Highland Hills, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com