William W. Dana was born October 11, 1923 in Oneonta, NY to Frank Webster Dana (1896-1953) and Ruth Cecilia Hall (1901-1985). His parents were married November 12, 1920. Both his parents were from Walton, NY. His father was a WWI veteran and part of the 106th Field Artillery. His parent's marriage record lists dad's occupation in 1920 as a Fireman. The 1930 US Census recorded the family lived in Westford, NY and that he had an older sister Wanda Marie, younger brother Frank E. and sister Adealia V.. That same census recorded his dad was a farmer. His parents eventually got divorced and his mom remarried Harry C. Wootton from Walton, NY. His dad remarried in 1946 to Beulah A. Walton (1914-1984) and moved to the Finger Lakes region of NY near Interlaken. His father died unexpectedly at his home in Interlaken, NY November 22, 1953. His younger sister Adealia died in 1932. She was only 4 years old and was buried in the Laurens Village Cemetery, Laurens, NY. His brother Frank also served in WWII and died in 2018.  

By 1938, William was a member of the Arabian Knights tumbling team and toured the nation with them. The 1940 US Census recorded William, then 16 years old, lived with just his mother at 6 Cliff St., Oneonta, NY. According to a newpaper account, he attended Laurens Central School and Oneonta High School. He registered for the draft on June 30, 1942 and entered the service as an aviation cadet on Nov. 19, 1942. All of 5'-9” tall and 140 pounds with brown hair and black eyes, he was living at 50 River St. in Sidney, NY at the time and worked for Scintilla, a large defense contractor in the area.

He received his training at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt., Maxwell Field in Alabama, Darr Aero Technical College in Albany, Georgia and Greenwood Field, Miss. William was commissioned on April 15, 1944 at Columbus Field, Miss. and sent over seas with the 15th Air Force to fly P 38’s. 

At the time Lt. Dana joined the 15th Air Force they were deployed in the European Theater bombing Europe from bases in Italy. In April 1944 they were ordered to bomb oil fields at Ploesti, Romania. Lt. Dana was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster for his participation in these raids. About 2 months later he was killed when his P-38G airplane, S/N 43-2518 was involved in a collision over Italy on June 27, 1944. The accident report shows he was with Squadron 95FS, Group 82 FG (Fighter Group). The 82nd Fighter Group was part of the 305th Bombardment Wing.

Lt. Dana was initially buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery, Bari, Italy, Plot F, Row 4, Grave 766 and later, in November 1948, Lt. Dana's body was returned home and he was buried at the Maplewood Cemetery, Mt. Upton, NY under the direction of the American Legion. A plague dedicated in December of 1945 to all the Scintilla Magneto Plant’s WWII KIA includes Lt. Dana’s name. Scintilla, later known as Bendix was a major defense contractor and employer in the Oneonta, NY area for over 50 years.  

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com. 

Sources:

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74621754/william-w-dana: accessed 02 March 2023), memorial page for Lieut William W. Dana (11 Oct 1923–27 Jun 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 74621754, citing Maplewood Cemetery, Mount Upton, Chenango County, New York, USA; Maintained by JTF (contributor 47185176). 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75438818/frank-webster-dana: accessed 02 March 2023), memorial page for Frank Webster Dana (12 Mar 1896–22 Nov 1953), Find a Grave Memorial ID 75438818, citing Lake View Cemetery, Interlaken, Seneca County, New York, USA; Maintained by Rindge1639 (contributor 47590060). 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75439450/ruth-cecilia-wootton: accessed 02 March 2023), memorial page for Ruth Cecilia Hall Wootton (3 Oct 1901–15 Nov 1985), Find a Grave Memorial ID 75439450, citing Maplewood Cemetery, Mount Upton, Chenango County, New York, USA; Maintained by Rindge1639 (contributor 47590060). 

Lockheed P-38G Lightning, Pima Air and Space Museum, at https://pimaair.org/museum-aircraft/lockheed-p-38g/, accessed August 7, 2022. 

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri;WWII Draft Registration Cards for New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group:Records of the Selective Service System, 147

Oneonta’s Gold Star Registry, City of Oneonta, Oneonta Historical Society, Main St., Oneonta, NY. June 2022.

Palmer, I. J., Scintilla – A Famous Name in Sidney, accessed at https://dcnyhistory.org/Scintilla.pdf, August 6, 2022.

Sidney Pays Honor to Scintilla’s War Dead, Syracuse Herald Journal, Dec. 3, 1945, pg. 3.

The Echo, Oneonta High School’s Student Newspaper, Oneonta Historical Society, Main St. Oneonta, NY, June 2022.

Under “Short Items of Interest”, Interlaken Review, Interlaken, NY, July 21, 1944 pg. 3.

USAAC/USAAF/USAF Accident Reports 1911-1955, at https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/dbSearchAF55.asp, accessed August 7, 2022.

Year:1930; Census Place:Westford, Otsego, New York; Page:6A; Enumeration District:0055; FHL microfilm:2341371

Year:1940; Census Place:Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Roll:m-t0627-02717; Page:61B; Enumeration District:39-43

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