William T. Martin Jr. was born on July 15, 1923. He was married to Mary Ellen Broadway Martin. He served in the 565th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Lieutenant and Bombardier of B-24 #44-10513 nicknamed "Old Glory'' during World War II.

On November 21, 1944, the ''Old Glory'', piloted by Lt. Rhine, was flying in the No. 4 position of the lead squadron at about 13,000 feet while assembling with other Eighth Air Force bombers over England near RAF Hethel, where aircraft were tightly circling in a “buncher” pattern to form a combat box before heading toward enemy territory; during this hazardous phase, it collided mid-air with another B-24, 42-50452 (Earthquake McGoon), as both aircraft were turning in the same direction and converging while focusing on formation spacing, resulting in a catastrophic impact that sent 44-10513 into a violent, uncontrollable spin before crashing near Carleton Rode, England, destroying both bombers and killing 17 airmen in total, including most of the crew of Old Glory, while only two crew managed to bail out in time.

Lt Martin survived the incident and returned to duty, ending his military service as a Lieutenant Colonel. He died on July 29, 2003, and is now buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.b24-kingsize.com