US Navy AOM1c William Russell Woolever was born in Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio on May 28, 1921, the son of Edward H. Woolever (1902-1961) and Lulu Mable Johnson (1902-1963). His father supported the family as a laborer in a tile plant in 1920 and as a farmer in 1930.
Little is known of his formative years, but we do know he enlisted in the US Navy on June 5, 1940. He reported into NAS Pensacola two months later as a 2nd Class seaman. While here he met and married a Pensacola girl by the name of Mary Frances Noa (1921-1950) in February 1942. She was the daughter of Valentin Sardinas Noa (1882-1968) and Margaret Eugenia Moloney (1892-1982). Her father spent forty years as a tailor and in the dry-cleaning business before retiring in 1947.
After the outbreak of WWII, William was sent to the South Pacific as an aviation ordnanceman. Navy records indicate he was killed in action on Okinawa on July 19, 1945, however the embattled island had been secured since June 22nd. Therefore, the exact cause and place of death is unknown and may surface at a later time through the family or other records. Regardless, he was buried on Okinawa and disinterred by request of his family and shipped home on the army transport SS Dalton Victory. His remains finally arrived in Pensacola and were buried in the Holy Cross Catholic Church Cemetery on April 12, 1949.
In the meantime, Mary Frances would marry again to USMC Joseph Franklin Thrasher in 1946. Joseph was eventually become a worker in the 7-Up Bottling company while they were living at 1304 East Strong Street. Four years later, Mary Frances would pass away in 1950 from a short illness and was buried next to William in Holy Cross Cemetery. Their mutual son, William Russell Woolever Jr. (1943-2015) would pass away in 2015 and was buried in Bayview Cemetery.
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