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PRIVATE
WILLIAM R. McKEE was born in 1924 in New Jersey. His mother, Gladys
McKee had married at 16. By 1930, the marriage had broken up. William
was living with his grandfather, William J. McKee, on High Street in
Glassboro NJ, who had a poultry farm. His mother and younger sister
Dorothy were living a short distance away in Pitman NJ, where she worked
as a laundress. She later married a co-worker, Floyd Cattrell, and moved
to 210 North 27th
Street
in Camden NJ. By the early 1940s, William McKee
was living at 4 Gloucester Avenue in Mount Ephraim NJ.
William
McKee was drafted into the United States Army. He volunteered for
paratroop duty, and was assigned to the 507th Parachute Regiment. He
trained in North Carolina, and Nebraska before going overseas in
December of 1943. As part of the preparations the 507th was attached to
the 82nd Airborne Division.
At
2:00 AM on June 6, 1944 the main body of the 82nd Airborne started to
drop in Normandy. Unfortunately it turned into a complete shambles.
Fewer than 50% of the men of the 508th Parachute Infantry landed within
2 miles of their drop zones, consequently it was 4 days before they
regrouped. The 507th Parachute Infantry faired even worse. Over half
fell a mile to the east of their drop zone and ended up in the swamps
created by the Germans by the banks of the river Meredet. Laden with all
their equipment many men drowned before they had a chance to fight. By
the end of D-Day, 4,000 out of the 6,209 assigned to the 82nd Airborne
were listed as missing. Eventually the stragglers made it back to the
Division and the final figures were put at 156 known dead, 347 wounded,
and 756 missing, presumed dead. Although the mission had started out as
a disaster, the 82nd captured St. Mere-Eglise and secured the eastern
bank of the Meredet, preventing any German reinforcements reaching Utah
beach.
Private
William McKee was one of the 756 paratroopers lost on D-Day. He was
declared missing presumed dead on June 10, 1944. He was survived by his
mother, Mrs. Gladys Cattrell, of 210 North 27th
Street, Camden NJ, and
his sister, Mrs. Dorothy Randolph, of Harrisonville NJ. He was 19 at the
time of his death.
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