William Francis Terminello Jr. was born on November 11, 1921, in New York County, New York. He was married to Ermadel Floyd Terminello Hough. He attended Kingston High School in New York. He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in August 1942, was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and earned his Pilot’s wings at Lubbock Army Air Field, Texas, in June 1943. After deploying overseas in April 1944, he served as a B-17 #42-97770 nicknamed ''Terrible Termite'' Pilot with the 100th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, flying more than 30 combat missions over enemy-occupied Europe and Germany.

On July 14, 1944, Bastille Day, the United States Army Air Forces carried out Operation Cadillac, one of the largest Allied aerial resupply missions of World War II, delivering urgently needed weapons, ammunition, and supplies to the French Resistance. Hundreds of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, escorted by fighter aircraft, flew from England to drop thousands of containers over designated Resistance zones, including Moustoulat in Corrèze.

William participated in the mission, and on September 10, 1944, while leading a wing formation over Germany, his aircraft was severely damaged by enemy flak, losing three of its four engines. Despite the damage, he managed to fly the crippled bomber into France, where it crash-landed in a forest and mud bank, burying him beneath heavy wreckage. All members of the crew survived, although they were injured. He suffered serious wounds, including a broken cheekbone and extensive injuries to his head, right leg, and left arm, and required prolonged hospitalization in France. He returned to the United States in November 1944 and was later assigned to Pecos Army Air Field in Texas, and ended his military service as a Captain.

In 1994, he returned to France with fellow members of the 100th Bomb Group at the invitation of the French Resistance to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bastille Day operation that supplied Resistance forces near Tulle. William died on April 30, 2011, and is now buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, resistancefrancaise.blogspot.com, 100thbg.com