William Lee Combrinck-Graham was born on April 10, 1913, in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He was the son of Arnold Mills Combrink-Graham. He served in the 30th Depot Repair Squadron, 30th Air Depot Group, as a First Lieutenant and Pilot of UC-78 Bobcat #42-58433 during World War II.

On December 4, 1944, the aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from airfield B-40 at Beauvais/Nivillers in France’s Oise department. It was conducting a passenger transport mission to A-81 near Creil. The plane departed at 14:56, but within minutes—around 15:00—a mechanical failure during the initial ascent caused one of the wings to break off in mid-air. The aircraft then went down and was destroyed in the crash. A later investigation indicated a structural failure: the glue used to secure the gussets and ribs had not properly bonded to the skin covering the leading edge and upper surface of the left wing.

1Lt Combrinck-Graham was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France.

Source of information: http://francecrashes39-45.net/