William A. Teague Jr

Corporal William Alexander Teague II was killed in action on July 13, 1945 in a bombing mission over Japan during World War II.  He was 19 years old

William Alexander Teague II was born on January 30, 1926 in Henderson, Vance County, North Carolina, the son of John Randolph Teague and Johnnie C. Rowland Teague.  He graduated from Henderson High School in the Class of 1943. He attended the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina for one year before enlisting in the Army Air Corps.

Cpl Teague was deployed to the Pacific Theater of War serving as a tail-gunner in the 792nd Army Air Force Bombardment Squadron. The 792nd  Bombardment Squadron was a B-29 Superfortress unit assigned to the 468th Bombardment Group, 58th Bombardment Wing during WWII. Operating initially from India and Saipan, it conducted strategic bombing and incendiary raids against Japan, including the petroleum and steel industries

When Cpl Teague reached the squadron, it was operating out of West Field (Tinian) in the Mariana Islands where it had been located since May 7, 1945. The squadron was able to operate from its new base against Japan without the need to use forward bases. Most of its attacks were nighttime raids with incendiary bombs. Its attacks in late May with incendiaries against Tokyo and Yokohama earned the squadron its second Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). It participated against some strategic targets from high altitude and earned a third DUC for a daylight attack on an aircraft manufacturing plant at Takarazuka.

On July 25, 1945, the B-29 in which Cpl. Teague was serving as tail-gunner was returning from a bombing mission over Japan when the plane ran out of fuel and the pilot was forced to ditch the plane in the ocean.  All crew members cleared the plane, but the water was so rough that Cpl Teague had trouble.  A life preserver was thrown to him, but it did not reach him. His body was recovered and taken to Iwo Jima. 

Corporal William Alexander Teague II is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia beside his older brother, John Randolph Teague Jr who was killed in action on December 28, 1944 near Castelnuovo, Italy.

Last edited: 8 June 2026