World War II Honoree

William Commodore 'Bill' Bainbridge, Jr.

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Kansas City, Missouri

Honored By

Missouri DAV Chapter 67

HE JOINED THE ARMY AIR CORPS IN MARCH, 1941. PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF WWII THE ARMY BEGAN CUTTING BACK ON FLIGHT TRAINING AND HE WAS HONORABLY DISCHARGED AFTER ONLY EIGHT WEEKS OF TRAINING. HE WAS ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE HIS CIVILIAN FLIGHT TRAINING. HE RECEIVED HIS PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LICENSES IN DECEMBER, 1941. HE THEN PURSUED HIS INSTRUMENT AND INSTRUCTOR'S LICENSES IN SEPTEMBER, 1942. IN OCTOBER, 1942 HE WAS HIRED BY TWA AS A CO-PILOT ON DC-3 AIRCRAFT FLYING OUT OF KANSAS CITY'S DOWNTOWN AIRPORT.