William Armstrong

Flight Officer William Armstrong (October 30, 1924 – April 1, 1945) was a member of the famed group of World War II-era African-Americans known as the Tuskegee Airmen. His plane was shot down on Easter Sunday in 1945 over Austria. In 2018 he was inducted into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame. |group=N

After his graduation (September 8, 1944) from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama he was assigned to the 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd fighter group in Ramitelli, Italy. Armstrong flew missions escorting bombers to targets in Nazi territory.

Recovery of his body After the war his stepfather petitioned the military to keep searching for William Armstrong's body. The Military found his remains buried in a grave in Austria and his body was flown back to Rhode Island in 1950. Purple Heart Medal Presidential Unit Citation Tuskegee Institute (1944)