About
World War II (1939-1945)
William R. Mitchell Jr. was born in Charlton in Saratoga County, New York, on December 23, 1924. He moved with his family to the city of Schenectady after 1930. In 1943, he graduated from Mont Pleasant High School, and before entering the military, he worked part-time for Thomas Service Station.
In March 1943, William enlisted in the United States Army. He spent a year training with the ski troops at Camp Hale in Colorado before being sent to Camp Swift in Texas for glider patrol training. He was a staff sergeant serving with Company K, 86th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. On February 20, 1945, William was killed in battle in Italy. He was one of nine in the Mitchell family who served in the military, and the Rotterdam Junction Veterans of Foreign Wars post was named in his honor. He is buried in the Sweetman Cemetery in Charlton, New York.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry