CPL William R. Mack
Today we honor and remember CPL William R. Mack of the 101st Airborne Division.
Corporal (CPL) William Robert Mack of the HQ Battery, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFAB), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Norwalk, Huron County, Ohio, to Earl W. and Olive M. (Rohr) Mack on June 18, 1922. William was their firstborn.
He also had four brothers, Richard P., Daniel, Earl C., and Robert C., and three sisters, Joan K., Ellen J., and Colleen E. Mack. Robert was a PFC in the U.S. Army while Earl served in U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
Colleen, born in 1930 and the youngest of his sisters, passed away in 1941. His brother Richard, a Seaman First Class, died at age 19 during the Battle of Iwo Jima when his ship, the USS Bismarck Sea, was hit by kamikazes on February 21, 1945. The war period was a tragic time for the Mack family.
William graduated from Norwalk High School on June 6, 1940. Nicknamed "The Truckers", it was established in 1857, and is the only public high school in the Norwalk City Schools district. During this time he was a four-year member of the Hi-Y Club, a high school department of the Y.M.C.A.
After his graduation, William moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he would find employment at the Republic Steel Corporation.
On December 4, 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Cleveland and was assigned to the HQ Co, 377th. When his stateside training ended, he sailed overseas to England aboard the SS Strathnaver on September 4, 1943. He arrived in Liverpool on October 18th.
After disembarking, the troopers of 377th PFAB were stationed at Benham Valence, near Newbury, Berkshire, England. During the late winter and spring of 1944, the battalion participated in a series of coordinated exercises (Exercises Beaver, Tiger, and Eagle) in preparation for D-Day.
The insertion of the 377th PFAB into Normandy was disastrous as the battalion was terribly misdropped on D-Day by the Troop Carrier Command. As a result, many of the 377th troopers perished. The 377th PFAB casualty report of July 14, 1944, lists 26 enlisted men Killed in Action. CPL William Mack was one of them.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
CPL William Mack was first buried at the temporary military cemetery of Blosville in Normandy. His body was later returned to the U.S. and he was reburied in January 1949. CPL Mack rests eternally at Saint Paul’s Cemetery in his hometown. May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, William.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
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