William B Rice was from Charleston Carolina and was born about 1919. He joined the Royal Canadian Airforce and served in the 139th BomBer Squadron. He was killed in action while serving in the China-Burma-India Theater in April 1942.
An article form the Charleston Post and Courier (May 26, 2022) by Col (Ret) Russell V. Olson:
Memorial Day is a day to honor the men and women who died in combat while serving in our nation’s armed forces. This Memorial Day, as we also observe the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, is an appropriate time to reflect on William B. Rice of Charleston, who made the supreme sacrifice for freedom during World War II.
In 1985, I was an Army major attending the Bangladesh Defence Services Command and Staff College as part of my training to become a South Asia “expert.” The College took us on a trip to Chittagong, Bangladesh’s major port, and we visited the Commonwealth War Cemetery with over 300 immaculately maintained graves. I asked if any Americans were buried there and was told that there was one.
The caretaker took me to the grave, and I was dumbfounded to learn that the individual was from Charleston (only 45 miles from my hometown of St. Stephen). I wrote down what information was available and contacted the editor of The News and Courier in Charleston. The newspaper located Rice’s surviving brother, who provided me with the details of how William came to be so far from home.
Rice had been rejected for medical reasons from enlisting into the armed forces prior to our entry into World War II. He then went to Canada where he was able to join the Royal Air Force and became an RAF pilot. His bomber crashed during a mission over Burma on April 23, 1942. Pilot Officer Rice was 23 years of age at the time of his death. His body was recovered and buried in Chittagong.
U.S. policy is to repatriate remains of Americans to a U.S. cemetery, and our government contacted Rice’s mother after the war to ask what she wanted to be done. She replied that fallen heroes should lie where they fell with their fellow warriors. Thus, in the faraway country of Bangladesh, there is a small plot of land that is considered sacred soil to all Americans.