William Dixon served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Captain and Commanding Officer of the 372nd Bomb Squadron in World War II. On August 28, 1944, Captain Dixon was the lead pilot and mission commander during an 18-aircraft bombing raid of B-24J Liberators when his plane was hit by flak in the bomb bay and fell in pieces over the Palau Islands, Southwest Pacific. None of the crew survived. Before qualifying for B-24s, Captain Dixon was in charge of setting up glider training schools in central Texas.
