William Albert Staats Jr. was born on June 29, 1921 in Colorado. He was the son of William A. Staats and Florence Marguerite Wheelock. He registered for military service in 1942. He served in the 328th Bomber Squadron, 93rd Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Radio Operator of B-24D #41-23711 nicknamed ''Jerks Natural'' during World War II.

On October 1, 1943, the B-24D “Jerk’s Natural” was returning from a bombing mission over Wiener Neustadt, Austria, when it fell behind its formation and was attacked by German fighters. The aircraft was heavily damaged, entered a spin, and crashed into the mountains northeast of Graz, near Heilbrunn and Brandlucken in the Austrian region of Styria. Nine of the ten crew members were killed in the crash, with only the navigator surviving and taken as a prisoner of war.

TSgt Staats was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay Township, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA.
Source of information: www.flickr.com, www.americanairmuseum.com, ancestors.familysearch.org