Staff Sergeant William L. Cochran was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania in 1915, and entered the service on July 27th 1942, in Texas. He moved to Florida around the age of 9, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John J. Cochran who lived at 6709 Florida Ave in Tampa. William attended Sacred Heart Academy.
William was wounded during the June 13th mission to Kiel when the B-17F Blondie piloted by Harry M. Conley and Leslie B. Palmer had to crash land in an English rye field. Thomas R. McArthur, the Ball Turret Gunner, was also wounded on this mission. William wrote a letter to his Mom while he was recovering in the hospital that said:
Don’t worry about me, Mother. I’m o.o. Remember I still love you and I’ll be home as soon as I can.
– SSgt William Cochran
William was killed in action on his fifteenth mission while serving as the Tail Gunner on the Joe Noyes crew. If you have any information on him, don’t hesitate to contact me so I can update this page.