William R "Bill" DONOHUE

1923 - 2013  (89 years)

• Name	William R "Bill" DONOHUE
  Nickname	Bill
  Birth	2 Feb 1923	Royersford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA   [1]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	48F7CA093F6346FDBC3783AEE69FF0CF5F4D
  Death	24 Jan 2013	USA   [1]
  Burial	Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA   [1]
  Notes	From findagrave.com: DONOHUE, Lt. Col. (USAF ret.) WILLIAM R. Bill died peacefully surrounded by his family on January 24th; just eight days shy of his 90th birthday. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Born February 2, 1923, in Royersford, Pennsyylvania, Bill was the youngest child of Joseph V. and Elsie (Green) Donohue. After high school graduation in 1942, he was drafted and sent to flight school. Stationed in Grafton Underwood, England with the 384th Bomb Group in 1944, he flew 31 B-17 missions, including 3 on D Day and 2 over Berlin. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with six oak leaf clusters. During the Korean Conflict, Bill was the personal pilot for Lt. Gen. James Van Fleet, the United Nations commander in Korea and was decorated by Syngman Rhee, president of the Republic of Korea, for his service. After his tour in England, Bill met and married Bobbie V. Phillips in 1945. During their 52 years together they had three daughters: Linda D. Wren, Elizabeth A. Ehrsam (Les), both of Plano, and Tracy Vaught (Jimmy) of Austin. Because of Bill's military service, the family lived in many locations in the United States and abroad. Bill retired in 1970 and settled in Plano, Texas. After Bobbie's death in 1997, Bill married Elfriede Fesak, his high school sweetheart. They moved to Boynton Beach, Florida. The couple moved to Austin, Texas in 2009 to be closer to family. Elfriede died soon afterward. Last fall, Bill was a participant in the first Honor Flight from Austin to Washington D.C. He was accompanied by his grandson, Bryan Ehrsam. The group was taken to the WWII Memorial as well as other historic sites in the city. Bill talked about the trip for weeks afterward. Bill is survived by his three daughters; his grandchildren Bryan Ehrsam , Laura Slagle, Blythe Barajas, Katherine Vaught, and Libby Vaught; six great-grandchildren; his niece Barbara Cutillo; and his step-children George Fesak and Beth Lyons. Source: Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, Austin, Texas
  Person ID	I1770	America
  Last Modified	28 Jun 2019

  
  

  Family 1	Bobbie Vee PHILLIPS,   b. 18 Sep 1922, Pine Forest, Hopkins County, Texas, USA d. 26 Apr 1997, Plano, Collin County, Texas, USA (Age 74 years)
  Marriage	27 Apr 1945	Texas, USA
  Children	1. Linda Sue DONOHUE   2. Elizabeth Ann DONOHUE   3. Tracy Lynn DONOHUE
  Family ID	F884	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	29 Jan 2015

  
  

  Family 2	Elfriede H FESAK,   b. 9 Jul 1923   d. 6 Jul 2009, USA (Age 85 years)
  Marriage	Aft 1997	USA   [1]
  Family ID	F3580	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	28 Jun 2019

  
  

• Event Map

  Marriage - 27 Apr 1945 - Texas, USA Burial - - Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S66] findagrave.com, November 2014 and later.