Memorial

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2nd Lt William J. Terry joined the Air Corps of the Regular Army in Lubbock, Texas on 7 April 1941 as a private with servicenumber 18036538.

The primary target was the Heinkel aviation industry in Oranienburg. Due to cloud cover, the secundary target, the city center of Berlin, was atacked.

The aircraft collided at about 1330 hours with B-24H / AF# 41-29416, nickname "Rebbel Gal", 15 seconds for "Bombs away". 5 crew members were killed, 5 were taken prisoner.

Exerpt from the book "B-24 Liberator Units of the Eight Air Force", by Robert F. Dorr:
B-24H 41-29434 Terry and the Pirates, piloted by 2nd Lt William Terry, was suddenly flying upside down over the target.
A crew member on another Liberator 'wondered what the heck he was doing in that attitude'.
Another crew member said, 'Suddenly I saw directly ahead and below a bomber with one tail missing. Mid-air collision! It was trying desperately to stay upright, but finaly it slid off to the left and slowly turned belly up with its bomb bay open, the bombs still in the racks. Then it went into a helpless spin. The realisation struck me that a bomber could spin easely as a single seater'.

A memorial marker has been placed for 2nd Lt William J. Terry at the Plainview Cemetery, Plainview, Hale County, Texas.

Lt Terry was initially buried at the POW Cemetery in Elsgrund-Döberitz. Between 30 November en 7 December 1946, his remains, together with 114 other American deceased, were disinterred and evacuated to Ardennes. Apparently his remains were either lost in the proces or could not be identified with sufficient certainty.