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Legacy of WWII Bombardier Lives On in Warwood

By ERIC AYRES 5 min read

WHEELING -- More than 80 years after being killed in action during a bombing mission over Germany in World War II, 2nd Lt. William E. Neuman's community and a new generation of family members gathered in his home neighborhood of Warwood to salute his life and service to his country.

Friday's gathering at Garden Park was the 15th KIA banner dedication ceremony organized by the Wheeling Military Banner Program. While more than 400 banners -- saluting those who have served or who are currently serving -- now hang over streets throughout the city, officials over the past two years have conducted dedication ceremonies honoring military personnel from Wheeling who were killed in the line of duty.

Wheeling Military Banner Program volunteer John Larch noted that family members of honorees typically select the date they would like the ceremony to take place and the location where they would like the banner for their loved one installed. So far, none of the 15 outdoor ceremonies has experienced rain, Larch said.

Friday's ceremony for Neuman kept the streak going, taking place just before raindrops began to fall at Garden Park.

Neuman grew up with his family on North 10th Street in Warwood, across from the location on Warwood Avenue where his new banner now hangs. Family members noted that he attended Corpus Christi Parish and Corpus Christi Grade School before moving on to Wheeling Central High School, where he played intramural basketball and was known as a very good student who was well-liked by classmates. He later enrolled at West Virginia University, where he was studying to become a mining engineer.

But Pearl Harbor was bombed at the end of his freshman semester, and he registered for the draft in 1942.

Neuman's cousin, Tim Flatley, spoke on behalf of the family Friday, accompanied by relatives representing generations of blood relatives of a decorated local hero they never had a chance to know in person.

Neuman's mother and Flatley's grandmother were sisters, Flatley explained, noting that he grew up knowing Neuman's parents and his sister, Kay.

"Unfortunately, I never got to meet William. He died 12 years before I was born," Flatley said.

After Neuman joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, he trained and was stationed at military locations throughout the country before being deployed to England, Flatley said. He was assigned to the 577th Squadron and flew more than 30 missions over enemy territory from July to December 1944 during World War II. Neuman was a decorated serviceman and was twice awarded the oak leaf cluster to add to his air medals during his service.

His final mission on Dec. 2, 1944, was a flight aimed at bombing railroads and marshaling yards outside Bingen, Germany. Flatley noted that the mission has been documented as having heavy air crew casualties and lost aircraft. Six planes on the mission were shot down, including Neuman's.

Two crew members on his plane -- a waist gunner and a tail gunner -- were able to escape by parachute, but the rest of the crew, including Neuman, died.

Flatley recited detailed accounts about the downing of the crew's flight as documented by survivors.

A few minutes after reaching the target area, a crew member stated the order of "bombs away" was given.

"Now William would have given that command, 'bombs away,' as the bombardier," Flatley said. "It may have been the last words he spoke."

German enemy fighters moved in and attacked the group, causing severe injuries to the men aboard Neuman's aircraft, Flatley said. Fire broke out in both bomb bays and on the command deck before the order was given to bail out.

German army reports also documented that seven crew members were found dead at the crash site near Bingen, and the two crew members who bailed out were captured as prisoners of war.

All seven deceased crew members were initially buried at a cemetery in a rural town in Germany.

"His body was returned after the war on Nov. 5, 1948, nearly four years after he was killed in action, and finally one of Wheeling's finest heroes was laid to rest in Greenwood Cemetery," Larch stated.

Although Neuman had graduated a few years earlier, Flatley showed a yearbook from Wheeling Central High School's Class of 1945 in which veterans from the school who served in World War II and were killed in action were listed with their photos.

"And there were 23 of them. Twenty-three young men from Wheeling Central High School were killed in that war," Flatley said, noting that this did not account for KIA alumni from all of the other high schools that operated in Wheeling at the time. "I think 80 some years later after the war, we forget the sacrifices that were made -- not only of the men who gave their lives, but also their families. Some of these men were married. They left widows. Some had children. They left orphaned children."

Flatley and local veterans officials noted that families made tremendous sacrifices, and efforts like the military banner program help pay tribute to them.

"Each banner is very special," Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said. "There is a heroic and honorable story behind each one. As I ride around our city, it warms my heart and makes me proud that this community has embraced honoring our veterans with such enthusiasm."

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