Obituaries
Sept. 07, 2003
The Daily Sentinel


Mr. William Glen Anderson 

Private services were held for Mr. William Glen Anderson, age 79, 
who died August 29, 2003 at this residence in Nacogdoches. 

Born December 8, 1923, in Trenton, Utah, he was the son of Mattie 
Rausen and William Wyatt Anderson. He was employed by Buffalo 
Electric in Houston as a wholesale electric salesman and retired in 
1976 to his farm in Nacogdoches. 

Mr. Anderson served in the United States Air Force during WWII, as a 
much decorated T/Sgt. He was on the first five raids over Berlin as 
a gunner and engineer. A veteran of 37 combat missions in the 
Mediterranean and European theaters, he logged more than 300 combat 
hours and nine enemy planes shot down. He was shot down himself on 
his last mission, when his bomber was attacked by 18 enemy fighters. 
He was wounded in the leg, and the plan crash-landed on the coast of 
England, killing the pilot, co-pilot and engineer. 

He was awarded the Purple Heart, Silver Star for gallantry in 
action; Distinguished Flying Cross - awarded for meritorious 
achievement while participating in aerial combat, Presidential 
Distinguished Unit Citation with two clusters for his flight over 
the Ploesti oil fields and the Soldier's Medal. 

Before he ever enlisted in the Air Force, he saved the life of a 
friend. In 1941, when he was just 17, his friend Glen Palmer climbed 
a power line tower and accidently touched the transmission line. He 
was knocked out by 44,000 volts. Young Anderson climbed the tower 
and held his friend on a cross-arm for about 45 minutes until the 
fire department could lower them to the ground. Palmer suffered 
severe burns but recovered. For this, Bill received one of the 
highest awards given to civilians for heroism - the Carnegie Medal. 

Survivors include his wife Margery Doris (Gorman) Anderson of 
Nacogdoches; sons, Glen Anderson and wife, Kathy, of Nacogdoches and 
Bill Anderson of Hollywood, California; brother, Richard Anderson of 
Ogden, Utah; sisters, Wilma Henley of Houston and Thelma Brown of 
Stockton, Calif. He is also survived by three grandchildren and four 
great-grandchildren. 

Mr. Anderson was preceded in death by his daughter, Margery Anderson 
January 2, 2003. 

The family requests memorials be made to the Cecil R. Bomer 
Rehabilitation Center, 1204 W. Mound St., Nacogdoches, Texas, 75961. 

Laird-McGill Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.