About
World War II (1939-1945)
William Frederick Peternell Jr. was born in Schenectady, New York, on September 21, 1924. By 1940, he was living in the town of Rotterdam in Schenectady County. He was a student at Draper High School and worked for the Piggly Wiggly Supermarket before entering the military.
William enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He underwent his training in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida. He was a staff sergeant serving with the 568th Bomber Squadron, 309th Bomber Group, Heavy. On November 16, 1943, William died in an aviation explosion in England. He is buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in England.
*William was known as the "Sergeant Kid" to his fellow soldiers.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry