Willie Terrell Little was born in Cottage Hill on October 18, 1919, the son of Ira Hillary Little (1884-1973) and Emma Frances Jones (1895-1995). Emma and Ira would have at least five children as he supported his family first as a farmer, then as a house carpenter and a janitor at a public school. By 1935, Ira and Emma had split apart, and she would remarry Eddie P. Brown in 1936. By the age of 20, Willie had obtained a job as a mechanical laborer at Jacob Albert Jacobi's lumber mill in Molino.
Then came the war, with everyone crowding the recruitment offices trying to enlist. Willie made up his mind to enlist as soon as possible but first he had something more important to do. He and his sweetheart, Naomi Kathleen Matchette (1921-1997) obtained a license and married on January 26, 1942. A young daughter would result from the marriage by the name of Joyce Diane Little. With that taken care of Willie went to the recruitment office in the Post Office building at Chase & Palafox on February 18, 1942 and enlisted in the US Army Air Corps. Following his flight and gunnery training, he was sent to the Pacific where he was assigned to the 42nd Bomber Squadron with the 11th Heavy Bomber Group. In July 1942, the squadron was ordered to the South Pacific where they operated out of Plaines de Gaiac on New Caledonia, Espiritu Santo, and Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.
Eventually, orders came down to commence operations against Mili Island in the Marshall's. The island belonged to Japan and housed a radio direction finding beacon and a weather station. It was occupied by 2,000 Japanese sailors and 2,200 soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Army. By 1942, a seaplane base was constructed followed by an airfield with three runways and a radar station. The perimeter of the island was fortified with coastal defense and anti-aircraft guns thus making it a likely Allied target prior to the invasion of the Marshall's. These aerial attacks increased in frequency and severity even after Majuro and Kwajalein had fallen to the United States. Of the Japanese garrison only half of the 5,100 men survived to the end of the war.
On December 1, 1943, the young Pensacolian and his formation of B-24 heavy bombers took off and headed for Mili Island. Another bomber, piloted by Captain Jesse E. Stay, saw Willie's plane close by as the formation neared the island. Willie's plane, named the "Naughty Nanette," was piloted by 2Lt. George R. Dechert, and was following Captain Stay directly over the target. One by one, they peeled off to make their individual runs and to get a better view of the target. The conditions were semi-instrument so once Dechert headed down, Stay lost track of him. As they circled back towards the target, he again saw Lt. Dechert making his bombing run. Sadly, that was the last time anyone ever saw Deckert and his Naughty Nanette! Each bomber in the formation made their individual run, dropped their bombs, then peeled back into the clouds. They had failed to see any enemy Zeros in the air until they made their last run. As they cleared the target, they were attacked by five Zeros, coming in hard and fast. But they never saw any Zeros attacking Dechert's plane when he had made his run. Static interference on their radio was strong enough to make reception practically impossible so even if Dechert had transmitted, it is doubtful anyone would have heard it.
When Willie and his plane failed to return, they were officially listed as "missing in action." Ten men just vanished into thin air, never to be heard from again. In August, a telegram messenger was seen pedaling his bike up north Palafox Street and turning in front of Christ Church. Everyone turned and looked, hoping, and praying he wasn't heading for their house. When the neighbors saw him stop at #29 West Wright Street, they all breathed a sigh of relief for themselves but offered a quiet prayer for Naomi and little Joyce. A knock at the open screen door brought the young wife and mother to her knees. Sadly, nine other families were receiving the same telegram including Carl Anderson, Bob Baker, Bill Barwick, David Buckles, George Dechert, Bob Lipe, and Bill Roy. All ten families would be waiting the rest of the war for the "final word." However, that word would not arrive from the War Department until January 20, 1946. Willie and his crew would never be coming home, and their bodies would remain in the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean for eternity. Such is the price and heartbreak of war!
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