Death
Huffman died, along with five other men on his plane, on March 12, 1944.
The plane was cleared on an instrument clearance to fly from Goose Bay, Labrador to Meeks Field, Iceland. The plane was to fly through snow showers that gave the pilot one mile of visibility. For the beginning of the flight, nothing was unusual. However, after approximately eight hours, the pilot was unaware of the location of the plane. Various checks were performed, but these did not prove helpful. After thirteen hours of flying, the plane was ditched 100 miles from the Icelandic coast because of fuel exhaustion. The plane broke into three pieces when it hit the water.
Co-pilot Glen A. Chollar, bombardier Stuart W. Jakku, gunner Walter S. O’Neil, and gunner Grant D. I. Small survived the crash and were found on a life raft and saved by a fishing boat.
The other men who perished with William were the pilot Charles C. Claxton, the navigator Albert Leventhal, the assistant radio operator Willie H. King, the engineer Harry H. Kyall, and one of the three gunners, Soloman P. Cohen. The remains of the other men, including William were never found.
The area was searched until March 19, 1944. Only an uninflated raft was found. There were no unknown remains found during the search that could have belonged to William. William’s death is listed as a DNB casualty, meaning that he died while not serving in battle.
The plane was cleared on an instrument clearance to fly from Goose Bay, Labrador to Meeks Field, Iceland. The plane was to fly through snow showers that gave the pilot one mile of visibility. For the beginning of the flight, nothing was unusual. However, after approximately eight hours, the pilot was unaware of the location of the plane. Various checks were performed, but these did not prove helpful. After thirteen hours of flying, the plane was ditched 100 miles from the Icelandic coast because of fuel exhaustion. The plane broke into three pieces when it hit the water.
Co-pilot Glen A. Chollar, bombardier Stuart W. Jakku, gunner Walter S. O’Neil, and gunner Grant D. I. Small survived the crash and were found on a life raft and saved by a fishing boat.
The other men who perished with William were the pilot Charles C. Claxton, the navigator Albert Leventhal, the assistant radio operator Willie H. King, the engineer Harry H. Kyall, and one of the three gunners, Soloman P. Cohen. The remains of the other men, including William were never found.
The area was searched until March 19, 1944. Only an uninflated raft was found. There were no unknown remains found during the search that could have belonged to William. William’s death is listed as a DNB casualty, meaning that he died while not serving in battle.