US Air Force Lt. William "Willie" Jasper Wall Jr. was born in Pensacola, Florida on September 2, 1928, the son of William Jasper Wall Sr. (1905-1980) and Audrey V. Wall (1911-1989). His father was a native of Jay, Florida and would relocate to Pensacola sometime before 1927. He first took a job as a groundman for the power company and moved his family into a house at 508 East Blount Street. Six years later he was a chauffeur before getting a job as a bus driver for the Greyhound Bus Lines. By 1940, they had moved to 912 East Hernandez Street. Prior to 1949, they would move to 3206 West Jackson Street before William Sr. retired from Greyhound after 39 years. In the 1950's Audrey would take up jobs as a clerk, first with the Borden's Dairy Company and then for Moulton's Pharmacy.
As for William Jr., he would graduate from Pensacola High School in 1945-46 before enlisting in the US Air Force sometime around May 1946. Somewhere along the way he met Miss Joy Lunsford (1931-2016) who had graduated from Plant High School in Tampa, Florida in 1948. The young couple would marry on November 27, 1949 in Tampa. She was the daughter of James Joseph Lunsford Sr. (1870-1952) and Geraldine Evelyn Murphy (1885-1940).
Their marriage was blissful for seven months until 75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th Parallel in Korea and attacked the South Korean army on June 25, 1950. As the Army and Marines were trying to halt or just slow down the juggernaut, 1st Lieutenant Wall and his 80th Fighter Squadron were sent in the next day. Since they were the closest air group, they flew in from Tsuiki Airfield in Japan and began providing air cover for the evacuation of American personnel escaping from the capital at Seoul. By October 1950, they had moved their home base from Japan to Suwon then Kimpo Airfield in South Korea. Their airfields would change constantly depending on how the ground fighting was going at the time. But regardless of where their field was located, they were constantly flying missions against enemy troops or deep behind the front lines against their supply lines, tanks, artillery or bridges.
Then on March 21, 1951, Lt. Wall took off in his F-80 "Shooting Star" fighter and headed for the coastal town of Inchon, only 17 miles from Seoul. By March 14th, the United Nation forces had recaptured Seoul once again and had driven the enemy forces northward back toward the 38th Parallel. To disrupt their hasty withdrawal, Lt. Wall and his fellow pilots were to strike Inchon that was being used by the enemy as a supply depot. As William was making his strafing run he received a direct hit from an anti-aircraft battery. His fighter immediately exploded killing William as his plane slammed into the ground.
Since he had crashed behind enemy lines, his body was never recovered. His wife and family were notified that he was missing in action but there was nothing else the War Department could offer them. Today, his name appears on the National Korean War Veteran War Memorial in Washington, DC. In the meantime, his father would pass away in 1980 and was buried in the Bayview Cemetery. His wife would remain in Tampa where she worked as a travel agent until she met a young US Air Force lieutenant stationed at nearby MacDill Air Force Base. Lt. Samuel Locke Highleyman III and Joy were married on April 8, 1952 in her hometown.
Kommentare