Herbert R. Willson served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant with the 7th Combat Cargo Squadron, 2nd Combat Cargo Group, 5th Air Force during World War II. The co-pilot on a C-46D Commando (#42-101046), he took off on November 24, 1944, from Biak Island, Biak Numfor Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia, on an operational mission to Finschhafen Airfield, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Though advised that they should land due to bad weather, the pilot replied that all was clear. They were never heard from or seen again. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the Tablets of the Missing, Philippines.
