SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall (WWII)

Remembering SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall (Rachel)

May 16, 1924 - July 21, 1944

----

SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall  was born May 16, 1924 in Coxs Mill, WV (Gilmer County), the son of Sam and Freda (Langford). In 1930, Sam was working as an oiler at a gas station, while their family lived at Leading Creek in Gilmer County (1930 Census). Between 1930 and 1935, they moved to Grantsville, Calhoun County (1940 Census). In Grantsville, Sam worked as a station operator for Hope Gas (1940 Census).

In 1942, Wilbur, known as "Wib" to his siblings, graduated from Calhoun County High School. He was the class valedictiorian, participated in 4H, student government, was the captain of the football team, and was even the two time mayor of Grantsville (Wilbur's nephew Jim Hendershot, Findagrave).

After graduation, Wilbur studied welding in Arthurdale, WV, a school founded by Eleanor Roosevelt. After spending some time working at Ice's Grocery Store in Rachel, WV (Jim Hendershot), he found work welding ships at the Bethlehem-Fairfield shipyards in Baltimore, MD (Draft Card).

Military Service and Marriage:

Wilbur entered the draft on June 30, 1942 in Mannington, WV. Despite giving his parents' address in Rachel as the address where he can always be reached, Wilbur was residing in Baltimore, MD, and working at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard. He was 5'7" and 150 lbs with gray eyes, brown hair, and ruddy skin.

He enlisted in the Army on March 8, 1943 in Fort Hayes, Ohio. At the time of enlistment, his occupation was listed as "semiskilled welders and flame cutters."

He received one leave, during which Wilbur married Anna Mae Barker on January 5, 1944. They married in Mannington, WV, where Anna lived before their marriage (WV Marriage Certificate).

Equipped with radio operator training school, SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall became a member 422nd Bomber Squadron, 305th Bomber Group, Heavy. He was on board the B-17-G "Foxy Lady" as the radioman when it went down over the North Sea on July 21, 1944.

B-17-G "Foxy Lady" (# 43-37763)

The Foxy Lady was on her 7th mission, to bomb an oil refinery in Wurzburg, Germany, when it was struck by anti-aircraft fire and badly damaged (Wilson). Three crew members managed to parachute out of the plane, but due to inclement weather it took about 45 minutes to get to them (MACR). By then, only tail gunner SGT Lloyd Peacock was still alive in the North Sea.

In Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 8233, the lone survivor, SGT Peacock, said:

‘‘Our aircraft was hit by flack and engines one and four were knocked out of commission. Three of the crewmembers bailed out of the plane. The three men were Sgt. Wilson, Sgt. Lenti and myself. The parachutes of Wilson and Lenti opened and they landed in the sea close to each other. I landed some distance from them and did not see them again. Friendly fighters followed us down and probably radioed our positions to Air-Sea Rescue, as shortly after two amphibious aircraft arrived over our position, but were unable to land because of the very rough seas. However, one of the planes dropped me a one-man life raft, but I was unable to inflate it as there was no Co2 cylinder in the raft. About 45 minutes after I had landed in the sea an Air-Sea Rescue launch arrived and I was taken aboard. The body of Sgt Wilson was picked up by the same launch, but there was no trace of Lenti or anyone else. Just prior to bailing out I glanced towards the forward of the ship, yelled to the radio operator to hurry and saw the pilot and co-pilot leaving their seats. Just as soon as I had left the ship, and passed the tail surfaces, the aircraft exploded and went down in a ball of fire. I watched the ship until it hit the water, and no one else got out of that ship except Wilson, Lenti and I. The engines one and four were knocked out over Germany, so we turned back, salvoed (dropped) our bombs, and we were making good progress until got over the Frisian Islands, where another barrage of flack was loosed at us, and that barrage knocked out number two engine, and that was the cause of us going down. We had an escort of friendly fighters all the way back from Germany, until our ship was hit over the Frisian Islands.''

In a short biography that he wrote for Findagrave, Wilbur's sister Madeline's son, Jim Hendershot, revealed that Wilbur's family received notice that he was MIA at 1 am on August 3, 1944, the day after Madeline (his oldest sister) got married. He was declared deceased on March 11, 1945, but his body was never recovered.

Crew Members on board the "Foxy Lady" (# 43-37763)

  • 2LT Frank Toftness, Pilot
  • 2LT Robert Shearer, Co-Pilot
  • 2LT Harry Beasely, Bombardier
  • SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall, Radio Operator
  • SGT Adolph Lenti, Right Waist Gunner*
  • SSGT Ray Orr, Top Turret Gunner
  • SGT Lloyd Peacock, Tail Gunner (Survivor)*
  • 2LT Robert Stachowiak, Navigator
  • SGT George E. Wilson, Ball Turret Gunner*
* = Parachuted away from the Foxy Lady before it exploded. Unfortunately, only SGT Peacock survived until rescue

Legacy and Survivors:

Just mere months after Wilbur's death, his only child, Judy, was born. He was also survived by his wife of 6 months, Anna Mae Hall (Postlethwait), his parents, Freda (1901-1963) and Sam (1902-1998), and seven brothers and sisters.

SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall is honored on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, as well as with a cenotaph at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton, WV. He was posthumously awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart for his service.

He is also honored on the "Marion County Veterans Killed in Action" Memorial at Veterans Square in Fairmont, WV, and at the West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV. 

Note: SSGT Wilbur Stevens Hall's seven siblings are: James Hall (1922-2000), Madeline Hall Hendershot (1926-2013), Gladys Hall Yost (1928-2012), Ray Hall (1930-2024), Iona "Mazie" Hall Glover (1933-2022), Anita "Sam" Simpson (1936-2021), and Helen "Gracie" Hall Moore (1939-2023). Wilbur's nephew Jim Hendershot, who did so much research and information gathering about Wilbur and the crew of the Foxy Lady, died in 2014.

Sources and More Information:






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