William Wolfe Wileman

William Wolfe Wileman, born 4 May 1917 in Ventura County, California, United States, graduated from University of California at Berkeley in 1940 then enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve, on 12 February 1941, as a seaman second class. After basic training at Oakland, California, he transferred 3 April to the Pensacola Naval Air Station for aviation training; the following day, he received appointment as an aviation cadet. Finishing the basic course at Pensacola in August, Cadet Wileman moved, on the 31st, to the Miami Naval Air Station for advanced training. His flight instruction ended 4 November; on the 5th, Wileman was commissioned ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Winning the Navy Cross

The Navy Directory for 1942 suggests Ens. Wileman was assigned to Fighting Squadron (VF) 6 on board Enterprise. Ensign Wileman may have served briefly with that unit on board that ship; he definitely served as a member of VF-2 on board Yorktown by the time of the Battle of the Coral Sea, in early May 1942. During fighting action, the evening of 7 May, Ens. Wileman earned the Navy Cross for shooting down at least one, and perhaps two, Japanese fighters.

Later, Ensign Wileman transferred to VF-5 then saw service at various locations in the southwestern Pacific. At the time of his death, 13 September 1942, Ens. Wileman was based ashore on Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands, with a portion of VF-5 assigned to the "Cactus Air Force" at Henderson Field. Unfortunately, additional details of Ens. Wileman's death are unavailable. Ensign Wileman was presumed dead as a result of enemy action, while defending his base from Japanese air raids.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• Ludlum, Stuart D. (1997). They Turned the War Around at Coral Sea and Midway: Going to War with Yorktown's Air Group Five. Merriam Press. ISBN 1-57638-085-8.
• Lundstrom, John B. (2005). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway (New ed.). Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.A.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-471-X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Wileman