William Richard King (March 7, 1927 - May 19, 1992)

By Zoe Friesen

Early Life

William Richard King was born in Clarksburg, WV, to Herbert J. O. King and Pearl (Tinney) King. William’s parents, both born and raised in West Virginia, were married in Harrison County, WV, on May 12, 1923.¹ A year after their marriage, Herbert and Pearl had their first son, Herbert King Jr., on May 21, 1924.² Herbert Jr. obtained a grammar school education before becoming a chauffeur with a license to drive a bus, taxi, truck, and tractor.³ William was born three years after his brother Herbert, Jr., on March 7, 1927.⁴ Herbert, Sr. worked as a crane operator at a steel mill, and Pearl was a housewife, as shown here in the 1930 Census.⁵

Army enlistment and service

Both William King and his brother, Herbert, enlisted in the military during World War II. Herbert Jr. joined the US Army as a private on April 5, 1943, at Fort Hayes, Columbus, OH.⁶ On May 12, 1945,⁷ two months after his eighteenth birthday and just a few days after VE Day, William King enlisted at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, TX, as a private in the US Army Air Forces, as seen here by his enlistment record.⁸ Sheppard Field served primarily as a US Army Air Forces training center for support staff, such as mechanics and technical instructors.⁹ Based on this knowledge, it is likely that William King entered the military as a mechanic or aircraft trainer.

William King’s enlistment records show that he was assigned to the Hawaiian Department.¹⁰ During World War II, the Hawaiian Department of the US Army Air Forces became an indispensable force in defeating the Japanese Empire. In 1940, the Navy insisted that the Army increase the number of aircraft and antiaircraft artillery to protect the Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor. As a result, in 1941, Oahu received its first modern Army combat planes, B-17s and P-40s, via carriers. Oahu now had carrier-based air power. As Japan was beyond the range of the land-based air power, the carriers meant the Japanese could now be reached. Furthermore, during 1941, the numbers enlisted in the Hawaiian Department doubled.¹¹ The Japanese attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, which precipitated US entry into World War II, included the bombing of Army Air Corps bases at Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, and Bellows Field.¹² By the time William King enlisted in May 1945, US defenses at Oahu had been greatly fortified, and the reconstituted US Air Forces played a vital role in defeating the Axis powers.

Time in Germany

King completed his tour of duty on October 31, 1949, and then re-enlisted on July 28, 1950 to serve in the Korean War with the rank of sergeant.¹³ Where he was stationed during his second enlistment is unclear. However, research suggests that the US Air Force stationed him in West Germany. On May 23, 1951, William King married German native Annemarie Stritter in Harrison County, West Virginia.¹⁴ Annemarie lived in Oberer Zwerchweg, Germany¹⁵ within close proximity to the United States base De La Marne Kaserne in Bingen, Germany.¹⁶ During the initial few years of US occupation of Western Germany, General Dwight D. Eisenhower established a fraternization ban. The ban was said to last “until the last Nazi criminals had been uprooted.”¹⁷ However to GIs “fraternization was a leisure time activity that occurred outside the realm of their duties.” Thus, at the end of 1945 the fraternization ban was terminated.¹⁸ As a result, by the time William King re-enlisted, it would not have been atypical for American GIs to be fraternizing with German citizens, particularly women.

Post-War Life

King’s wife, Annemarie, immigrated to the United States on May 7, 1951, arriving in New York.¹⁹ Annemarie’s arrival documents stated her destination as “c/o William King, Clarksburg, West Virginia,” and noted her having “exhibited a certificate of marriage.”²⁰ Despite arriving with a marriage certificate, William and Annemarie were married again in the United States. Annemarie arrived in New York with her husband and their two-year-old daughter, Ellen Jean Stritter.²¹ Ellen’s birth is recorded as October 30, 1948, in Wiesbaden, West Germany.²²It is possible that William, accompanied by Annemarie and Ellen, returned to one of the US Air Force bases in West Germany during his second tour of duty.

King served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars before his honorable discharge from military service on February 28, 1966. As a retired US Air Force veteran, King lived in Ship Bottom, NJ, with his wife, Annemarie, and daughter, Ellen. ²³ Research does not provide any information regarding William and Annemarie’s son, Ralph King. In 1974, William and Annemarie moved to Spring Hill, FL, where their son Ralph also lived. William’s brother, Herbert, lived close by in Homosassa Springs, FL. Herbert King passed away on May 26, 1996, in Crystal River, FL, and was buried in Sunset Hills Memorial Park, Jackson Town, Stark, OH.²⁴

William R. King died of natural causes on May 19, 1992, at the James A. Haley Veterans Administration Hospital in Tampa, FL. He was survived by his brother, wife, two children and four grandchildren.²⁵ On March 17, 1995, a headstone was erected at Florida National Cemetery in his loving memory, Plot C, Row 0, Grave 9.²⁶

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