Name:
William J. Donley
Rank:
Sergeant
Serial Number:
32610846
Unit:
565th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomb Group
Date of Death:
1964-05-03
State:
New York
Cemetery:
St. John's Cemetery, Queens, NY
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:
Machine gunner of the B-24 Liberator “Blunder Bus” which took off from Norfolk at 0800 as part of 420 American bombers determined to destroy the FG Farben chemical plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The plane was shot down by Fw190 of the JG2 over Chateauneuf sur Loire between 1300 and 1330. SSgt Dillon perished in the crash, but the remaining crew were able to bail out. Sgt Donley, who was born in Brooklyn, NY, was held prisoner in Stalag Luft 4 in Gros Tychow. After the war he was on the NYC police force starting as a motorcycle policeman and eventually a detective in Brooklyn, NY. He married Muriel Ryan on September 6, 1943 and they had seven children. Donley died of a heart attack at the age of 46.