This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Sgt Duane Kimbrow (Skip)
to remember
Hatton, William Joseph (Bill), 1st Lt.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Hudson County
Last Address Soluch AAB, Libya Whitestone, New York
Casualty Date Apr 05, 1943
Cause Non Hostile- Died while Missing
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Libya
Conflict World War II/Asian-Pacific Theater
Location of Interment Mount Saint Mary Cemetery - Flushing, New York
Wall/Plot Coordinates Plot Section: 10, Row: with a Rosette, indicating
Dedicated to the crew of the B-24-D "The Lady Be Good" (tail # 41-24301)
1st Lt. William J. Hatton, pilot Whitestone, New York
2nd Lt. Robert F. Toner, co-pilot North Attleborough, Massachusetts
2nd Lt. D.P. Hays, navigator Lee's Summit, Missouri
2d Lt. John S. Woravka, bombardier Cleveland, Ohio
T/Sgt. Harold J. Ripslinger, flight engineer Saginaw, Michigan
T/Sgt. Robert E. LaMotte, radio operator Lake Linden, Michigan
S/Sgt. Guy E. Shelley, gunner New Cumberland, Pennsylvania
S/Sgt. Vernon L. Moore, gunner New Boston, Ohio (MIA)
S/Sgt. Samuel E. Adams, gunner Eureka, Illinois
Note: Capt Hatton's remains were recovered in 1960 and interred in
Mount Saint Mary Cemetery Flushing, Queens County, New York, USA . His name was initially listed Tablets of the Missing on North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial.
Comments/Citation:
This profile is dedicated to Lt. William Hatton and the crew of the "Lady Be Good."
On 4 April 1943 the crew of the B-24 aircraft with the name of "The Lady Be Good" (tail # 41-24301) departed from Soluch AAF, Libya on a high altitude attack on the harbor at Naples, Italy.
The crew included
1st Lt. William J. Hatton, pilot
2nd Lt. Robert F. Toner, co-pilot
2nd Lt. D.P. Hays , navigator
2nd Lt . John S. Woravka , bombardier
T/ Sgt . Harold J. Ripslinger, engineer
T/Sgt. Robert E. LaMotte, radio operator
S/Sgt. Guy E. Shelley, asst. engineer/gunner
S/Sgt. Vernon L. Moore, asst. radio operator/gunner
S/ Sgt . Samuel E. Adams, tail gunner
Of the twenty-four B-24s participating in the mission only the "Lady Be Good" failed to return to Soluch or be accounted for. The only contact with the lost crew was a terse radio distress call shortly after midnight on 5 April 1943. The remains of all crew members with the exception of S/Sgt. Vernon Moore were eventually found in the desert in 1960, 440 miles south of their intended destination in 1943.
2nd Lt. Robert Toner's diary survived, as did much of their gear, and broken aircraft, which told the story of their mission and attempt to survive the desert. They walked 85 miles in scorching heat for eight days sharing only one canteen of water.
Lt. Hatton enlisted in the Army in 1940 and served with the 9th Regiment at Virginia Beach, later transferring to the AAF in 1941.
He was initially trained as a pursuit (fighter) pilot and then as a B-17 pilot at Hendrick's Field in Florida. Then he trained with the 34th Bombardment Group at Davis-Monthan Field, Tucson, Arizona where he flew the B-24. He flew out ot the Topeka AAB for North Africa in 1943.
