PVT Leslie E. Williams
Source: The Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon
Private (PVT) Leslie Eugene Williams of Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Fox Valley, Linn County, Oregon, to Ira L. and Dicie A. (Pickelsimer) Williams on December 29, 1920. Leslie had two older brothers, Ralph L. and Robert L., and two older sisters, Ruby D. and Pearl. He also had one stepsister, Jeanne Prather, as his mother remarried sometime in the twenties to Roy W. Prather.
Leslie registered for the draft in Oregon on May 11, 1942. He joined the U.S. Army in Portland, Oregon, on August 11, 1942. Less than a month later, Pvt. Leslie Williams traveled to Toccoa, Georgia, where he was assigned to the Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th, on September 7, 1942.
At the end of November 1942, after completing his rigorous infantry training at Camp Toccoa, the 506th was ordered to Fort Benning, Georgia, to finish their jump training. The men of Headquarters Company undertook a 118-mile foot march in 72 hours from Camp Toccoa to Atlanta. Colonel Sink, the regimental commander, had heard of a march record held by the Japanese and wanted to beat it. From Atlanta, the men traveled by train to Fort Benning, where they conducted jump training.
Pvt. Leslie Williams with his wife, Ruth. Source: Fold 3
Immediately after having received his jump wings, Leslie married Ruth Douglas in Columbus, Georgia, not far from Ft Benning, on December 20, 1942. Their marriage was blessed with a daughter, Linda, born in Pinehurst, Caldwell, North Carolina, on June 22, 1943.
In the first half of 1943, the officially designated paratroopers of the 506th took part in several exercises along the East Coast before boarding the SS Samaria in New York Harbor on September 5, 1943. The ship transported the 506th paratroopers to England, arriving in Liverpool ten days later. They then traveled by train to Wiltshire County, where the regiment was spread across several villages. There, they carried out several parachute jumps and continued infantry training, preparing for the invasion of Europe.
Late on the evening of June 5, 1944, the planes of the 2nd Battalion left Uppotery Airfield, England, heading toward Normandy, France. Pvt. Williams’ stick was in their C-47 bound for Drop Zone C, located west of Sainte Marie du Mont. What actually happened to Pvt. Williams after he jumped out of his plane on D-Day is not recorded or mentioned in any document, but he was reported missing in action in the morning report of July 8, 1944. His status was changed to killed in action on D-Day in the morning report of July 18.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
Source: FindaGrave (c/o Michael V. Drachman)
Pvt. Leslie Williams died at the age of 23 on June 6, 1944. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal. Leslie was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery Sainte-Mère-Église #2 at Plot E, Row 4, Grave 76, on June 25, 1944. On April 21, 1948, he was disinterred and prepared for a final reburial, which took place in 1949. Leslie rests eternally at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, at Plot D, Row 7, Grave 24.
May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Leslie.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
Sources:
Family Search
IDPF
Story Behind The Stars