America had an enormous challenge in 1941: its military was inferior to the German and Japanese military by a large degree. Every able-bodied American man of military age was called to arms.
Sadly, given the scale and urgency of what was required, more Wilmington City residents would be killed in training accidents during the War than would be killed in combat in WW1, Korea or Vietnam.
April 1942:
November 1942:
Wilmingtonians Killed in the Line of Duty During WW2:
William G. Stevenson. 34. 406 W. 26th St. Wilmington High School. Clark Machine Company. Killed in training accident in Massachusetts July 1942.
Louis H. Way. 20. Wilmington High School. Private, Army. Killed in a training accident in Georgia, September 6, 1942.
Augustus Zografas. 22. 111 E. 7th St. Wilmington High School. Family fruit stand, King Street. Private, 44th Infantry Regiment. Killed in training accident, Aleutian Islands, October 5, 1942.
Joseph H. McGinley. 24. Wilmington High School. Sergeant, Airforce. Automobile collision during training in Texas. September 18th 1942.
Lambert Tribuani. 25. 208 N. Clayton. St. Thomas Parochial School. Technical Sergeant, 498th Coastal Artillery Regiment. Line of Duty, Colorado, January 5th 1942.
Edward L. Games. 23. 2403 Lamote St. Service station at 30th and Governor Printz Boulevard. 2nd Lt. Pilot – Air Force. Killed in February of 1943 along with all 8 onboard plane during training accident.
Paul W. Taylor. 31. 2nd Lt. Howard High School. Morgan College. Killed in car accident during training in Missouri September 1942.
William E. Hairsine. 21. Aviation Cadet Navy Air Corps. Killed in line of duty in Arizona March 26th 1943.
Daniel J. Regan. 23. 517 N. Harrison St. Salesianum High School. Dravo Corporation. Electricians Mate 3rd Class, Coast Guard. Killed in an industrial accident in Chicago, April 7th 1943.
James C. Walker. 19. 23 Buena Vista St. PS Dupont High School. Dupont Company – Experimental Station. Advance Ordinance Man, Second Class. Died in line of duty in Pacific, June 9th 1943.
Robert Groome. 21. Killed while training as an aviator in accident while training with bomber crew in Texas. Salesianum High School.
Joseph Cirono. 21. Assistant Manager of Loew’s Movie theater. Sergeant. Air Corps. Killed in training accident when Flying Fortress crash, killing 5 on board.
John P. Sparco. 20. 910 N. Dupont St. Seamen Second Class, Navy. Died in Line of duty in Maryland, August 18th 1943.
John Petticrew. Officer, US Army. Salesianum Class of 1926. Died of sudden illness while on leave in Washington DC. 1943.
Louise Marzie. 21. Air Force. Killed when plane crashed during training accident, 1943.
Paul B. Selbe. 37. 18th and Jefferson. Patent lawyer at Dupont Company. 1st Lt Air Force. Died in Line of Duty, California, 1944.
Robert M. Vernon. 29. 70 Rockford Rd. Wilmington High School. University of Delaware Class of 1935. Line of Duty, 1943.
William H. Hudson. 20. Died of illness during training with 29th Infantry Division in Iceland. PA Railroad Shops, Wilmington. 1943.
James H. Jarrell. 19. Lt. Brown Vocation High School. Killed in training accident in Mississippi while serving as a flight instructor, January 17th 1944.
Danforth B. Carmichael. 2311 W. 18th Wilmington High School. Equitable Trust Co. Storekeeper 1st class, Navy Airs Corps. District commissioner of Boy Scouts. Killed in California, line of duty, February 28th 1944.
William J. Biesenger Jr. Private First Class 356th Bomber Group Air Force Florida.
William H. Allen. 27. Line of Duty, England, June 1944. Dravo Corporation. Howard High School. Scoutmaster of local Boy Scout troup.
Roy S. Thomas. Private Army North Carolina. Line of Duty March 6th 1944 when plane crashed in training accident
John J. Paisley. 24. 1334 Claymont. St. Patrick’s Parochial School. Pullman Company. Sergeant, Army. Died during training in Tennessee on March 20th 1944 when a raft collapsed while attempting to cross a river, drowning all 20 on board.
Dorman Daniels. Vandaveer Avenue. Wilmington High School. Worth Steel Company. Technician 4th Grade Army. Died in line of duty, North Carolina -April 7th 1944.
Sidney L. Galbraith. 206 W. 26th. Died of food poisoning in May 1944 while serving with the Sea Bees near Hawaii.
John G. Madison. 1st Lt, Army. 633 W. 3rd. Died September 1944 from wounds received in South Pacific.
William A. Funk. 21. 1917 Gilpin Avenue. Brown Vocational High School. Usher at Loew’s Theater for 2 years. Aviation Machinist Mate, USS Ticonderoga. Killed in Line of Duty in Virginia on May 18th 1944 when 2 planes collided during a training accident
Edward B. Dougherty Jr. 32. 2214 W. 3rd St. Joe’s on Brandywine. Dupont Company. Private, Army. Died in line of duty, Delaware June 7th 1944.
Edgar B. Worley. 200 block W. 20th. 1st Lt. US Army Air Corps. Killed during training accident when plane crashed in Florida, September 1944.
Robert W. O’Donnell Jr. 21. 318 S. Broom St. Wilmington High School. 2nd Lt Air Force. Line of Duty October 6th 1944.
Thomas V. Brock. 532 E. 4th St. Staff Sergeant HQ Squadron – 356th fighter group. Killed in line of duty, October 28 1944.
Belford S. Dunn. 24. PS Dupont High School. 2nd Lt. Navy California – Line of Duty – November 24th 1944.
William J. Clark. 25. 506 W. 24th 2nd Lt. 19th Bomber Group. Killed in line of duty at Gulf of Mexico November 27th 1944 when B-29 Super Fortress crashed during a training mission.
Anthony S. Montour. 20. 623 Madison. Brown Vocational High School. Hercules Powder Company. Petty Officer Second Class Navy Air Corps. Killed in Maine – line of duty 24 March 1945.
George W. Grant. 19. Pullman Company. Private in Army. Killed in Virginia – Line of Duty March 30th 1945.
James J. Giletti. 38 406 N. Union Private Army Maryland – Line of Duty – April 5th 1945.
Charles Edelberg. 24. N. Clayton ST Bellanca Aircraft Corp Sergeant 422 Airforce California – Line of Duty July 27th 1945.
Joseph A. Ackerman. 22 1320 West St. Salesianum High School. Aviation Cadet Navy Airs Corps. Died in Line of Duty, New York September 5, 1945
Frederic G. Gassaway Jr. 22. Tower Hill School. University of Delaware. Lt Jr Grade. USS Bouganville, Navy. Killed in line of duty California, August 25th 1944.
Arthur A. Hackett. 18. Salesianum High School. Staff Sergeant, Air Force. Killed in Line of duty, New York, February 9th 1944.
Charles W. Hamilton. 1510 Jackson St. Pusey and Jones. Killed in Line of Duty, Texas February 12th 1944.
Maurice Jacobs. 27. 222 W. 14th. PS Dupont High School. 2nd Lt. 8th Air Force. Died in line of duty, July 13th 1944.
Thomas J. McCormick. 22. 1320 W. 3rd. St Paul’s Parochial School. Crane Operator for Pyriites Co. Private 856th Engineers Batallion. Died of accident in Europe, August 10th 1943.
Roy A. Baldwin. 27. 2410 Jessup St. Wilmington High School. City fire fighter before the war. 81st Chemical Battalion. Died in accident in England December 15th 1943.
James N. Lloyd. Technician 5th grade Army South Pacific – Line of Duty 10-Aug-1945
Roland E. Cardwell. 20. 413. W. 20th. PS Dupont High School. Dupont Company. Private. 4th Infantry Division. Killed in line of Duty, London, 1943.
John F. Hudson. 22. 103 N. Franklin. Wilmington High School. 2nd Lt. Army. Killed in training accident, Georgia, 1943.
Simon G. Rosen. Yeomon Second Class, Navy. Killed in line of Duty, Washington, July 30th 1944.
Nelson A. Theriault. 21. Private, 198th Coastal Aritllery. Line of Duty, Treasury Islands, September 2nd 1944.
Thomas B. Twilley Jr. 22. Paratroop Unit. Killed in line of duty in Azores, March 13th 1945.
John H. Wellford. Tower Hill School. MIT. 2nd Lt. Air Force. Killed in line of duty, Caribbean, August 19th 1945.
Victor J. Carozzo. 22. St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine. Staff Sergeant. Killed in airplane accident in New Mexico, July 1943.
James N. Lloyd. 108 Poplar St. US Army. Killed by a falling crane boom while serving with Army Engineers in the South Pacific.
Benjamin J. Rydlewski. 21. 210 Liberty St. News Journal Employee. USS Boyle. Died in line of duty in Mediterranean, August 28th 1945.
Francis J. Huhn. 31. W. 3rd. Corporal, US Army. Killed in accident December 1945 in Washington State.
John J. Bader. 39. Bank manager at Wilmington Trust. Lt-Commander, Seabeas. Wilmington High School. Spent 40 months in the heart of the Pacific. Died of illness in China operations, 1946.
Gilbert T. Hawkins. 905 W. 2nd. Had served 28 months as a bombardier on a B-24 patrol bomber and won award for sighting and sinking a submarine from the air. Died in line of duty.
Stanley H. Keen. 26. US Army. 3300 block Market St. Killed in accident in Missouri while awaiting discharge after serving with 8th Infantry Division in France and Germany. PS Dupont graduate. Has been back in US since June.
Louis Cerasari. 209 Dupont. Died in an automobile accident near Dover Air Force Base while finishing term of service, August 1946. .
Joseph R. Rosiak. 1007 Beech. Coxswain, US Navy. Killed in accident in California while awaiting discharge with a SeaBea unit that had been stationed in the Pacific.
George W. Dixon. Died of automobile crash while in an ambulance rushing patients to an airport in the Philippines while serving with a Hospital unit.1946.
William M. Palmer II. 2502 Washington. Killed in accident in crash of C-54 transport plane in the Mediterranean Sea while returning from service in India.
Edward Waller. Howard High School. No other information available.
A Tribute to Wilmington's Greatest Generation 