William H. Engelhardt was born on November 14, 1923, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Robert Edward Engelhardt Sr. and Esther Viola Waldschmidt Engelhardt. He served in the 603rd Bomber Squadron, 398th Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Right Waist Gunner during World War II.

On July 7, 1944, he was part of a B-17 Flying Fortress crew led by 2nd Lt. Boyd A. Nisewonger on a bombing mission targeting Leipzig, Germany. During the mission, their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire (flak) over the target area, leading to its downing. Sgt. Engelhardt and tail gunner Sgt. William J. Wilson was killed in action, while the remaining seven crew members survived and were taken as prisoners of war.

Sgt Engelhardt is now buried in the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA. William H. Engelhardt's name is inscribed on the Anstey Window Memorial in Panel 3 (right), on Butterfly 25, in the top left wing (section A).

Source of information: www.398th.org