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Cpt. William Crawford Jr.
WILLIAM CRAWFORD JR. was a decorated U.S. Army Air Force Flying Fortress pilot.
Born in Beaverdale, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1917, he was raised in Niles, Ohio and graduated from Niles McKinley Hi...view moreWILLIAM CRAWFORD JR. was a decorated U.S. Army Air Force Flying Fortress pilot.
Born in Beaverdale, Pennsylvania on July 12, 1917, he was raised in Niles, Ohio and graduated from Niles McKinley High School in 1935. He enrolled in Youngstown College for two years, then transferred to Ohio State to work for his B.S. In 1941 he joined the U.S. Army Air Force to become an airline pilot, when Pearl Harbor and the U.S.’s intervention in World War II changed the horizons of his military career. He served and fought in the Pacific theatre with the 19th and 43rd Army air force bombardments based in Australia and New Guinea from 1942-1943.
He was awarded 11 decorations for his valor, including the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster; the Order of the Purple Heart; the Distinguished Flying Cross; and four Presidential Unit Citations for his part at Rabaul in decisive mass-attacks with the 19th Bombardment Group, and with the 43rd Bombardment Group in the famous battle of the Bismarck Sea.
He married Margaret in 1944, with whom he had two sons, William and Lawrence, and published a personal history of his adventures in the South Pacific, Gore and Glory. He began working for Wean United Corporation in 1946. The Crawfords resided in Warren, Ohio.view less