Meanwhile, I went on to finish radio school, gunnery school and crew training as a radio operator/gunner on a B-24 crew. In April 1944 our crew began flying missions from 392nd Bomb Group in England with the Eighth Air Force, 392nd Bomb Group, 578th Bomb Sqdn. Bill and I maintained contact by mail during this time and a couple of days before our last mission, I received a letter from Bill saying he had finished his P-51 training and for me to "hold on", that he would soon be coming over. I sent a letter back telling him, among other things, to stay in the states as it was definitely unhealthy in the ETO, and the next day, May 29th, we were shot down and I became a POW.

A B-24 Liberator of the 578th Bomb Sqdn. On 29 May 1944, the mission's lead navigator decided to take the squadron across the European coast ten minutes ahead of time, this decision meant no friendly fighter escort en-route to our target, the oil installations at Politz. On their bomb run at 23,000 ft. they continued to come under heavy attack from waves of 109's, 190's and Ju88s. Davis's plane sustained several 20mm cannon hits which caused fires. After bombs were released he and other crew members bailed out. Davis was captured by armed German farmers. His B-24 was among the 17 lost on that mission which also included attacks on airfields and the aircraft assembly plant at Tutow.

I returned to the States in early June of 45, and later that month I visited Bill's home to find out about him and was told he had been lost during a strafing mission on April 11th. At that time the information his folks had received was very sketchy as to details, but there was no question as to his being lost.

In 2004 I happened to check the World War II Memorial web site and decided to see if Bill was listed. Sure enough he was listed and one of the sponsors was his sister, Jean. I tried to locate her but with no success. The listing did give Bill's Fighter Group (354th) and so I then found their web site and Mr. Daniel Carrizales, who maintains the site. During the next two years we maintained contact. This past December, Mr. Carrizales put me in touch with a contact in the State Department who did the initial investigation of the crash site. He in turn put me in contact with a Mr. Walter Harrington of Hinsdale, New Hampshire who had been a buddy of Bill's in pilot training.

Mayor Ranier Wernicke of Trautenstein, Germany at Bill's gravesite. In 2006 I established contact with Ranier Wernicke, Mayor of the village Trautenstein. I asked the Mayor, if I provided the funds, would he see to it that flowers were placed at the marker on Bill’s birthday and on the anniversary date of his crash. The Mayor checked the site, found the marker mostly covered with dead leaves and dirt and was concerned the marker might be covered over and forgotten and also possibly damaged by vehicles. He wrote to me about what he had found and said that if I provided for the flowers, he would see to it that the marker was cleaned and provide it with a protective structure. He also suggested that we add a third date for the flowers, November 26, which is the German equivalent of our Memorial Day. Thus, on the date of his death (April 11), their Memorial Day (Nov. 26), and his birth date (Dec.2), flowers are being placed at Bill’s protected grave site.

Walter Harrington epitomizes the definition of the word, “buddy". Thru steady persistence after 50 years he managed to determine Bill's crash site, that he had been buried there and arranged for a suitable marker. On October 30th 1997, seventeen active duty members of the Special Forces Association carried out services appropriate for a fallen hero at the crash site in Wernigerode, Germany.

Although on foreign soil, Bill is now again one of ours. After learning of the time and location of the crash, I decided to check my own records. On April 11, 1944 I was nearing the end of a long march across Germany, having started from Stalag Luft 4 in Poland. We had just re-crossed the Elbe River slightly north east of Hanover. So of all the places in the world Bill and I might have been at that moment in time, we ended up only fifty miles or so apart when he crashed.

I returned to Goslar, Germany on a business trip in the late 60's. Turns out Goslar was only 25 miles or so from Wernigerode.

As you might gather, in my opinion, William F. Harker was one of the finest individuals I've ever met, and I will never forget him.

Jean Harker Adams, Bill's sister

Gentlemen, I thank you all for all the time and attention spent to honor my brother. He was loved and is still missed greatly, as he always will be.

Haker's stone marker outside the village of Trautenstein, Germany and U.S. Army Honor Guard salute as taps is being sounded at the service. Bugler in the background.

Words cannot express how much this memorial has meant to me and my family. Sincerely, Jean Harker Adams.