White William C.

Monuments

B-24J 42-50953 ''Flying Finger'' Monument

B-24J 42-50953 ''Flying Finger'' Plaque

Name:

William C. White

Rank:

Sergeant

Serial Number:

12121163

Unit:

765th Bomber Squadron, 461st Bomber Group (Heavy)

Date of Death:

1944-12-17

State:

New York

Cemetery:

Saint John Cemetery and Mausoleum, Middle Village, Queens County, New York, USA

Plot:

Section 50

Row:

Grave:

134

Decoration:

Purple Heart

Comments:

William C. White was born on January 17, 1923, in Kings County, New York. He was the son of William C. White and Marie V. White. He enlisted in the service on August 18, 1943. He served in the 765th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Ball Turret Gunner of B-24J #42-50953, nicknamed "Flying Finger," during World War II.

On December 17, 1944, the �Flying Finger� took off from Torretta, Italy, as part of Mission No. 151 to bomb the synthetic oil refinery at Odertal, Germany. The �Flying Finger,� piloted by 2Lt Phillip Crossman, was last seen around 11:45 a.m. near Muglitz, Moravia. It never returned. The aircraft went down south of Neutitschein (now Nov� Jič�n, Czech Republic) after encountering heavy flak and German fighters, with four crewmen killed and the rest wounded or taken prisoner.

Sgt White was Killed in Action and is now buried in the Saint John Cemetery and Mausoleum, Middle Village, Queens County, New York, USA.

Source of information: 461st.org, www.americanairmuseum.com