William M. Troutman
From the Upper Dauphin Sentinel (Millersburg, Pennsylvania), 19 May 2015:
Information is being sought on a former Millersburg resident who lost his life while serving in World War II.
William M. Troutman, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces, went missing and is believed to have perished in the crash of a B-17 bomber in the North Sea – between Great Britain and the European mainland – 20 October 1943.
Troutman is not listed on Millersburg‘s memorial honoring those who served in WWII. His birth date, as well as the date he entered the service, are needed for inclusion on the monument.
Troutman served as an aerial navigator with the USAAF 333rd Bomber Squadron, 94th Bomber Group, Heavy.
A 1944 newspaper article stated that his mother, Sallie Troutman, lived on Pine Street in Millersburg and that, during a ceremony at the community Legion Post, she received the medals her son had earned for his WWII service. Troutman earned the Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.
He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing in Cambridge Cemetery, United Kingdom.
Along with the birth date and date of entry into the service, any and all information about Troutman would be appreciated by those making the request.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Blaine G. Walter Jr. Post 5507, Veterans of Foreign Wars… Millersburg….
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Research in newspapers of the time produced the following information.
From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 29 November 1943:
Second Lieutenant William M. Troutman, son of Mrs. Sallie E. Troutman, 374 Pine Street, Millersburg, is listed as missing in action in Europe by the War Department, an official communique said today.
From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 29 November 1944:
Trevorton Flyer is Killed in Action
Trevorton — Lt. William M. Troutman, graduate of Trevorton High School and Susquehanna University, and former manager of Governor Snyder Hotel, Selinsgrove, who was reported as missing in action over Germany on 10 October 1943, is now “presumed” dead, the War Department informed his mother, Mrs. Sallie Lebo Troutman, Millersburg.
According to information received by his mother more than 13 months ago, Lieutenant Troutman was lost when his plane was forced down over Wallchern, a German fortification protecting Antwerp. Since the Allies have taken over this territory no trace has been found of members of the crew.
Lieutenant Troutman’s father, Clarence Troutman, was killed in an automobile accident here early this spring.
Based on the information in the 1943 and 1944 news articles, I was able to research William M. Troutman in Ancestry.com. The results of that research were sent to the Blaine G. Walter Jr. Post at Millersburg on 30 May 2015:
William M. Troutman was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, about 1918, the only son of Clarence R. Troutman and Sallie E. [Lebo] Troutman. He was a graduate of Trevorton High School and Susquehanna University [Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania]. During his stay at Susquehanna University, he was captain of the soccer team, a member of the track team, and a member of a social fraternity. At the time of his enlistment at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he was employed as the manager of the Snyder Hotel in Selinsgrove.
There is a good amount of information about him on-line including a picture of the 94th Bomber Group [including Troutman] and the actual plane that he flew. But there is conflicting evidence of where his plane actually went down — possibly over the North Sea and possibly over Wallchern, a German fortification protecting Antwerp. His remains were never recovered. The official death date is in the records as 20 October 1943.
However, I have seen no evidence that William M. Troutman actually ever lived in Millersburg. On 14 January 1944, the father Clarence R. Troutman, was killed in an automobile accident about one-half mile south of Trevorton, Northumberland County. This occurred about two months after the Troutman’s received word that their son was Missing in Action. About this time, Sallie Troutman was located in Milllersburg, for reasons I have not yet determined. Hence the awarding of her son’s medals was done at Millersburg.
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Three of the available photographs are presented below:
William M. Troutman, Susquehanna University, 1940. From the Lanthorn [yearbook].
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333rd Bomb Squadron, 94th Bomb Group.
Front Row (kneeling,left to right); Laverne H. Pliler (TG), Kelley A. O’Keefe (WG), Edward W. Owens (BT), Seaton M. Woodley Jr. (WG).
Back row (standing, left to right) – Lloyd F. Caubble (R), Earl P. Miller (P), Robert C. Snyder (CP), William M. Troutman (N), Clayton D. Raynes (B), William F. Rae (E).
This crew served from early summer of 1943 until mid-October. Only three survived: the pilot (Miller), the bombardier (Raynes) and a waist gunner (Woodley). These three finished before the others because of extra missions with other crews, but the remaining six went down over the North Sea on their final mission (25th), 20 October 1943. The 10th member, O’Keefe, a waist gunner, was Killed in Action on their 17th mission, to Stuttgart on September 6th. “42-30303 (94th Bomber Group, 333rd Bomber Squadron, “Raider”) crashed due to mechanical failure into North Sea Oct 20, 1943. 10 KIA. MACR 903.
Image from World War Photo.
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B-17F-95-BO 42-30303 Raider II. 06/13/43 Assigned to the 94th Bomber Group. Rougham Airfield, Suffolk, England. 17 August 1943. TS M2 Moore, Jasper C. Regensburg, Germany. Landed in Africa. 14 October 1943. TS M2 Beuford C. Bevins. Schweinfurt, Germany. 10/20/43 Crashed in the North Sea. (MACR 903)
Image from World War Photo.
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Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.
See also:
Findagrave Memorial #56295053. Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. See also Findagrave Memorial #52388673. Northumberland Memorial Part, Stonington, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.