William Russell Hensley was born on November 24, 1922. He was the son of Jesse Mathis Hensley and Bessie Lenora Wyatt Hensley. He served in the 762nd Bomber Squadron, 460th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Mechanic/ Aerial Engineer of B-24 #42-51085 during World War II.

The B-24 #42-51085 “My Gloria” took off from Spinazzola, Italy, on a mission to bomb the Allach motor factory in Munich. They were hit by German flak during the bombing which caused a fire in two of the motors and fuel to leak into the fuselage. They attempted to return to Italy, but the problems worsened as the third engine started to falter so they diverted in the hopes of landing in neutral Switzerland. They parachuted out of the doomed plane at 1154 and the plane crashed 300 meters further near to this spot. The local French resistance immediately gathered the crew into hiding and they spent 34 days on the run with the resistance. See site Lac de la Fare for several memorials that tell the story of how the local french resistance assisted this crew of 11 to freedom. The area where they were hiding was eventually liberated by invading American forces and the crew made their way back to their unit in Spinazzola. The saga is recounted in the book “Eleven Americans who Fell from the Sky” by Pierre Montaz.

SSgt Hensley died on January 4, 1946, and was buried in the El Reno Cemetery, El Reno, Canadian County, Oklahoma, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net