- Date Of Birth: September 26, 1919
- Date Of Death: March 2, 2017
- State: New Mexico
William Henry Gay was born in Florence, Kansas September 26, 1919 to Agnes and Berry Gay. He and his younger sister, Amanda Marie were raised in Newton Kansas and had extended family in the Mennonite community of Goessel, a town just north of Newton.
Agnes was widowed when Bill was just 3 yrs of age but that didn’t stop him from growing into a wonderful father and a man’s man who loved the outdoors, sports and other rugged pursuits.
After high school graduation he attended Bethel College for one year then attended Pittsburg State Teachers College where he met the love of his life Elma Jean McKinney in an English Literature class. She knew he needed help with his studies so he accepted and they were married June 22nd, 1941. Then-union came just 6 months before Pearl Harbor.
At the time, Bill was a welder at a plant in Wichita which became Boeing Air Craft; he was an assistant foreman when they turned out the first B-29. His service time was with the Army at different locations in Kansas and Colorado. He was a Corporal, a Carbine Sharpshooter and a Surgical Technician. He was shipped overseas with the same National Guard Unit that he had trained with in Kansas so he was really glad to be reunited with boys from his hometown when they headed to war.
He spent V.E. Day on a troop ship and after serving sue months overseas he was shipped back to the U.S. with orders to report to the Pacific arena conflict. However, he spent V.J. Day with Jean at her parents’ home in Fredonia, Kansas.
