William Gaylord Beach was born on July 8, 1922 in Utica, NY to Rev. Clinton Gaylord Beach (1892-1971) and Velma May Griffin (1896-2003). His parents were married on June 25, 1919 in New Hartford, NY. He had an older sister Velma (Betsy) (1920-2016). The 1925 NY State Census and the 1930 U.S. Census recorded him living with his maternal grandmother Susie Griffin, his mom and his sister Velma at 15 Lyon Place in Utica, NY. Not much is know about Billy's childhood. We do know he attended New Hartford High School for a time (was a sophomore in 1938) and then the Manlius boys' military prep school near Syracuse, NY. While at Manlius he received the Officer's silver shield by virtue of having been three times gazetted as Officer. He planned to attend Middlebury College upon graduation but those plans changed when the war broke out. He graduated from Manlius in the summer of 1941.

William was baptized on May 24, 1942 at the Christ Church in Manlius, NY and a month later he entered the service on June 23, 1942 and went to Fort Benning, Georgia, likely at the New Officer Candidate School that was established there. When commissioned he was issued service number O-468747. He married Sarah Elizabeth Smith (1924-1964) on June 11, 1943 in Russell, Alabama. Sarah was living in Columbus, Georgia at the time and recorded being born in Atlanta, Georgia and being a Stenographer. For reasons not clear William reported "neither of parents living" on his marriage license.

In late October 1943 the 6th Infantry Battalion landed in Italy as part of the larger invasion of Italy that began in early September 1943. By late September Allied forces had secured the beaches near Salerno and were attacking northwest toward Naples. By the time Lt. Beach joined the fighting all of southern Italy was in Allied hands and the infamous battle of Monte Cassino was nearing an end.

In February 1944, Morning Reports show Lt. Beach, then a “replacement” having recently arrived in Italy, being admitted to Station Hospital 52 with Dysentery. Station Hospital 52 was in Naples, Italy. It wasn't until May 1944 that he is assigned to the 6th Armored Infantry then in La Fagianeria, Italy and joined the fighting.

By July 27, 1944, General Orders for the 1st Armored Division list Lt. Beach has having received the Purple Heart. His name appeared again in August 1, 1944 General Orders has having received the Combat Infantryman Badge. By late August 1944, the 1st Armored Division had reached and in many areas had crossed the Arno River west of Florence, Italy. The division was conducting reconnaissance and securing bridgeheads since the enemy had largely withdrawn further north. Lt. Beach is killed by a shell fragment during this phase on August 25, 1944. He received a Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster posthumously and was buried in the Vada Italy Cemetery, Plot C, Row 6, Grave 356. Later, in June 1949, at the wishes of his widow, he was permanently interred in the Florence U.S. Military Cemetery, Plot C, Row 4, Grave 37.

Sarah was living in Barletts Ferry, Salem, Alabama when Billy was killed and the Army sent his Purple Heart and Bronze Star to her. She remarried and lived until 1964.

Author's Note: There were a number of discrepancies in the primary sources concerning aspects of Lt. Beach's life I could not reconcile so care should be taken if using this narrative. Census records from 1925 and 1930 show William living with his maternal grandmother Susie Griffin, his mother Velma M. Beach and his sister Belma E. Beach. His father is not listed in either of these Census. In addition, he recorded both his parents being deceased on his marriage license and they were not. I cannot explain this. Finally, articles in newspapers about his death report his father as Col. Clint Baylord Beach in France and a brother, Lt. Col. Beach is Africa. I could find no record of a brother and no record his father ever entered the service and served in France.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen on Together We Served and Fold3.

(Please see - http://www.storiesbehindthestars.org).

Can you help us write these stories? Together We Served and Fold3/Find A Grave have smartphone apps that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery and read these stories of WWII fallen.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute, please contact Jim Greenberg at jim.greenberg@oneonta.edu.

Sources

"58 More Georgians Killed, 5 Wounded and 2 Missing", The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, October 21, 1944, pg. 2.

Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1847-1849, 1907-1936 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

Beach-Griffin wedding announcement, The Utica Observer, Utica, NY, June 26, 1919, pg. [illegible].

Beach Obituary, Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Bay, Florida, July 10, 1971, pg. 23.

ChatGPT (OpenAI). (2025). Map of the 6th Armored Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division on 25 August 1944 [AI-generated map]. Generated using OpenAI’s ChatGPT image model.

Episcopal Diocese of Central New York; Liverpool, New York; The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York Church Records, 1797-1970

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56362267/william_gaylord-beach: accessed November 22, 2025), memorial page for 1Lt William Gaylord “Billy” Beach (8 Jul 1922–25 Aug 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56362267, citing Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy; Maintained by MAJ Jimmy Cotton (contributor 48803557).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68888463/clinton_radford-beach: accessed November 24, 2025), memorial page for Rev Clinton Radford Beach (29 Apr 1892–7 Jul 1971), Find a Grave Memorial ID 68888463, citing Woodlawn Memory Gardens, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida, USA; Maintained by Barb Walker (contributor 47034601).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50416122/velma_may-gori: accessed November 24, 2025), memorial page for Velma May Griffin Gori (22 Oct 1896–9 Nov 2003), Find a Grave Memorial ID 50416122, citing Kirkland Cemetery, Clark Mills, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Barb Walker (contributor 47034601).

Haversack, 1941, yearbook for the Manlius School, Manlius, NY.

Individual Deceased Personnel File, Beach, William, G, O-468747 National Archives at St. Louis,

"Lt. William Beach Killed in Action", The Columbus Ledger, Columbus, Georgia, September 18, 1944, pg. 9.

"Lt. William Beach Is Killed in Italy", Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, Georgia, September 18, 1944, pg. 8.

National Archives St. Louis, MO, 63138;Series: Army General Orders; Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; NAID: 356264650; Fiche_74.

National Archives St. Louis, MO, 63138;Series: Morning Reports; Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; NAID: 575109546; Morning Reports for November 1944: Roll 272

National Archives St. Louis, MO, 63138;Series: Morning Reports; Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; NAID: 575109546; Morning Reports for May 1944: Roll 542

National Archives St. Louis, MO, 63138;Series: Army General Orders; Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration; NAID: 350821848 ; Fiche_24.

The Army Historical Foundation, Camp Enoch H. Crowder, Missouri, accessed at https://armyhistory.org/camp-enoch-h-crowder-missouri/ on December 2, 2025.

"The Longest Year, World War II: The Last Year", Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, Georgia, September 18, 1994, pg. 42.

"The Longest Year, World War II: The Last Year", Ledger-Enquirer, Columbus, Georgia, April 22, 1995, pg. 8.

"Three Georgians Killed in Action, 59 Wounded", The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, September 9, 1944, pg. 2.

Velma O'Neill (his sister) Obituary accessed at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/uticaod/name/velma-o-neill-obituary?id=20671054 on November 24, 2025.

Year: 1930; Census Place: Utica, Oneida, New York; Roll: 1623; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0149; Image: 331.0; FHL microfilm: 2341357

Supporting Documents

The following are two letters found in his IDPF.  The first from him mom giving the government his wife's new address.  The second from his wife giving them her correct address.  This type of thing was common during the governments body recovery program.