First Lieutenant
United States Air Force
William Anthony Voss, son of Leo J. and Isabelle E. (Keppers) Voss, was declared Missing-In-Action on 16 July 1953.
William graduated from Saint Ambrose Academy Class (Class of 1948). The Senior Snaps section of the 19 December 1947 issue of The Academy News, has the following entry about William: ““Bubbles” …from the Cathedral school. Bill likes all sports, with basketball topping his preference list. On varsity cage squad this year. Serious, soft-spoken, Bill is undecided about his future, but hopes to attend college after graduation.” William played basketball, was a member of the golf, and boxed for the Saint Ambrose Academy Knights. During the summer he was a lifeguard at the Davenport Country Club.
After graduating from Saint Ambrose Academy, William attended Saint Ambrose College from 1948-1951 and was a member of college’s golf team. A fan of basketball, he coach the Sacred Heart Cathedral basketball team.
He married his high school sweetheart, Lois Jane O’Hara.
William a member of United States Air Force 52-G Pilot Class when he began his initial pilot training at Spence Air Force Base in Moultrie, Georgia. He received his commission as a Second First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force on 25 October 1952, in Big Springs, Texas. He was sent to Korea in March 1953 where he was assigned as a pilot of a F-84G Thunderjet fighter with the 429th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 474th Fighter Bomber Group. While on a 16 July 1953 combat mission near Kujang-dong, Sinanju-Anju, North Korea, William’s aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed. He was declared Missing-In-Action on 16 July 1953, however his status was changed to declared dead on 16 July 1954.
William was survived by his wife; a daughter Mary Beth; his parents; sister, Sister Mary Leonice (Betty Lee) Voss; and two brothers, Virgil and Gene (serving with the United States Army in Germany) Voss.
First Lieutenant William Anthony Voss, United States Air Force, is still official listed as Missing-In-Action.
Among his decorations and awards is the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
First Lieutenant William Anthony Voss
(Photo courtesy Mary Beth Guy)
Source of Information:
1. e-Mail from Mary Beth Guy on 19 December 2003. Mary Beth is William’s daughter.
2. Saint Ambrose Academy school newspaper, The Saint Ambrose Academy News, 19 December 1947, page 2.
3. Davenport Democrat and Times, 13 August 1954, page 8.
4. American Battle Monument Commission.
5. National Archives, United States Military Personnel Who Died From Hostile Action (Including Missing and Captured) In The Korean War, 1950-1957 for the State of Iowa.
6. Department of Defense Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, Personnel Missing Korean War Database.
7. Department of Defense Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, Korean War Aircraft Loss Database.
8. USAF Pilot Training Classes 52-G and 52-H 52-G Spence Air Force Base, Georgia web site; http://www.52g-52hpilots.org/52-G%20Spence.htm/.
9. e-Mail from Mary Beth Guy on 12 February 2004.
Following letters provided Mary Beth Guy.
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