Oneonta WWII Fallen

2nd Lt. William F. "Billy" Drew (O-762908)

427th Bomber Squadron, 303rd Bomber Group

William F. Drew was born July 1, 1922 in Oneonta, NY to Walter J. Drew (1891-1964) and Katherine McDermott (1892-U). Curiously, his Army Enlistment Records at the National Archives show his place of birth being Alaska. Various U.S. Census and marriage records show his father was from New Jersey (East Orange, NJ according to his draft registration card) and his mother from Ireland (arriving in the United States in 1908) . His parents were married on September 30, 1914 in Manhattan, NY. His older brother Walter (1915-1988) was born about a year later on November 11, 1915 in Newark, N.J.

For the next 20 years the family moves around. According to the 1925 New York Census, the entire family, which included William by this time, was living on Phelps St. in Oneida, (outside Syracuse) NY. In 1928 they moved to Yonkers, NY where his father took up a job as a Service Manager at Bishop McCormick. By 1935 the family had moved to Oneonta, NY where his father was a salesman for a local oil company. His brother Walter Jr. (20 years old by this time) was living in Syracuse, NY. According to an obituary in the Sep. 30, 1964 Press and Sun-Bulletin, Binghamton, NY. his father died in 1964 after having remarried to Eva Mylck Drew. At the time of this writing, it was unclear what happened to his mother.

William spent his childhood in Oneonta, NY and attended the local schools. He excelled there and was active in many clubs. His Oneonta High School yearbook notes his nickname was “Billy” and he had a “Brilliant mind plus friendship true.” He was in the Latin Club, President of the Commercial Club, President of the National Honor Society, on the Annual Board, Banking Squad and Traffic Squad and won the “Bookkeeping” prize. He was voted “Most Ambitious”. He graduated from Oneonta High School in 1940 and after working for a time for the New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG), attended the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance in Boston, Mass.

After only one year, he leaves Bentley and enlists in the Medical Administrative Air Corp Officer Candidate School on October 21, 1942 in Boston, Mass. A little more than a year later, he married Marjorie A. Thorpe on December 29, 1943 in Oneonta. Marjorie lived with her sister Rosetta Warren while William served his country.

After entering the service, it become hard to track what happened to Drew but eventually he winds up a commissioned officer in the Air Corp. He is assigned to the 303rd Bomber Group or "Hell's Angels" which was based at Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, England during the war. By July 1944, 2Lt. Drew is flying on “Miss Lace” (see crew photo below) as a bombardier. Drew flew 28 combat missions.

Marjorie A. Thorpe

On November 9, 1944, his 29th, “Miss Lace” took off, with a crew of 9 on a mission of “Tactical Support of Ground Troops near Metz, Germany”. Shortly after takeoff his B-17 was involved in a mid-air collision with another B-17 piloted by 1st Lt. Robert W. Davis. Both B-17s crashed near Wenlock, Shropshire, England. William was killed in this crash. He was awarded the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart. Sgt Robert G. Hannah was the only survivor and he was able to get to the tail escape hatch and bail out.

Crew of the Miss Lace #42-102411 (photo: 09 July 1944)

(Back L-R) S/Sgt John F. Hobgood, S/Sgt Jim S. Reeves, S/Sgt Albert W. Bricker,

T/Sgt James A. O'Leary, T/Sgt Leonard A. Turner

(Front L-R) 2Lt William F. Drew, 2Lt Frank G. Mowatt, 1Lt John A. Newton,

1Lt George L. Lange

2Lt. Drew is buried at: Plot G Row 2 Grave 154 Cambridge American Cemetery Cambridge, England. He is awarded posthumously the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and a Purple Heart.

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

Sources:

American Air Museum in Britian, accessed on August 21, 2022 at https://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/12063.

Aircraft Profile page at American Air Museum in Britian, accessed August 21, 2022, at https://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/1462

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56289322/william-f-drew: accessed 02 March 2023), memorial page for 2Lt William F. Drew (1 Jul 1922–9 Nov 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56289322, citing Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England; Maintained by Russ Pickett (contributor 46575736).

Lieut. William F. Drew, 28th Oneontan to Give Life, Killed on a Raid, Binghamton Press, November 29, 1944, pg. 3.

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

Marjorie A. Thorpe Photo, Oneonta High School Yearbook, 1942, accessed via Ancestry.com, August 24, 2022.

William F. Drew, Honor States, accessed August 21, 2022, at https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=92195

William F. Drew, American Battle Monuments Commission, accessed on August, 21, 2022, at https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/drew%3Dwilliam-0.

William F. Drew, profile page at American Air Museum in Britian, accessed August 21, 2022 at https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/229442

"World War II Army Enlistment Records" database with images Fold3

(https://www.fold3.com/publication/831/wwii-army-enlistment-records:

accessed August 25, 2022)

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