William Hughes Love was born on July 20, 1920, in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the son of Michael Love and Maggie Love. He was employed as a driver before enlisting in the service on October 30, 1942.

William served in the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, as a Private during World War II. William was Killed in Action on June 11, 1944, or more precisely he was executed by the German Army while a POW. This occurred in the week after the initial D-Day invasion of France by the Allied forces. He was one of nine paratroopers, mostly from the 507th Airborne, who were marched to the hamlet of le Mesnil Angot. They were taken to some fields, then off the road, to a place where two intersecting ditches separated four farm fields. One by one, these nine troopers were knelt and shot in the back of the neck. Their jump boots were stolen and the Germans threw loose dirt over their bodies.

A few days later a French farmer saw the toes of these men sticking out of the dirt. The bodies were eventually recovered by Graves Registration Personnel after the area was liberated. Pvt Love is now buried in Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Source of information: www.honorstates.org