World War II Honoree

Radford Willis Failing

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Palatine Bridge, New York

Honored By

Michael Lynett

On October 8th, 1942 he entered the United States Army and was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone for the duration of the Second World War. There he played saxophone in the Fourth Coast Artillery Band, and in the Crossroaders dance band, a group made up of selected U.S. Army and U.S. Air force musicians. The Crossroaders played at various United Service Organizations shows, including two shows featuring Bob Hope and Francis Langford, where he played saxophone with Tony Christian, of the Tommy Dorsey Band.