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Remember...Wilbur Stevens Hall
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Wilbur Stevens Hall was born on May 16, 1924, to Samuel S. Hall and Frieda Iona Langford. He grew up in Cox's Mill, Gilmer County, alongside seven siblings: James, Madeline, Gladys, Anita, Grace, Ray, and Mavis. By the time he was 16, the family had moved to Calhoun County, where his father was a station operator with the Hope Natural Gas Company. After high school graduation, Wilbur attended a trade school in Arthurdale, Preston County, where he studied welding. By 1942, he was in Baltimore, Maryland, working at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard.
On March 11, 1943, Wilbur was drafted into the U.S. Army and was branched to the Army Air Force, training in South Dakota and Louisiana as a radio operator. On January 4, 1944, he married Anna Mae Barker of Marion County; they had a daughter Judith Ann. By early June 1944, he had been promoted to staff sergeant and was attached to the 305th Bombardment Group, 422nd Bomber Squadron, 8th Air Force. The 305th had been fighting for two years and needed replacements; new crews were sent immediately into the fight. On July 21, 1944, Wilbur's B-17 was hit by enemy fighters, ultimately causing the crew to bail out, though some, including Hall, did not make it.
For a more detailed biography of S/Sgt. Hall, visit his biography page, written by Sydney "Brooke" Hodges and Makenna Mayle, at the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project, courtesy of the West Virginia Humanities Council: https://wvhumanities.org/wp-content/national_cemeteries/Hall_Wilbur_Stevens.pdf
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
