Gerson, William Jay (Bill)

He was born in 1913 in Copenhagen to a Zionist Jewish family that emigrated to the United States, and served as a transport pilot in the American Air Force in the European arena in early 1943. At the beginning of 1948 Bill was recruited by Al Schwimmer to assist in the transport of S- Following the instruction of President Truman on restrictions on the export of arms and especially aircraft, the pilots were given the task of flying commando planes from Burbank, California via Mexico City to Tucuman, Panama, loaded with a surplus cargo. 1948), after a stopover in Mexico City, the plane was unable to gain speed and take off and crashed near the edge Bill was mortally wounded and died on the same day at the hospital, leaving behind a wife and children, who was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles and was awarded the rank of lieutenant. And sent him to a widow in Los Angeles, Bill and the co-pilot, Edward King, are the first casualties of the air force.