WW II U.S. NAVY RESERVE VETERAN ~ Killed In Service

Son of William Leonard Koch, Sr.
and Loretta Agnes (nee Toomey) Koch.

Ensign William L. Koch, Jr. was killed
during a training mission flight in
a mid-air collision with another training
plane, over Whiting Field, near Milton,
in Santa Rosa County, Florida.

Brother of the late Frederick T. Koch;
John D. Koch; and Margaret "Peggy"
Koch.
++++++++++
The Dunkirk Evening Observer
Dunkirk, New York
Tuesday, 21 September 1943

ENSIGN W.L. KOCH KILLED IN
PLANE ACCIDENT MONDAY

---
Is 2nd Son Of Mr. and Mrs. W.L.
Koch To Die In Three Months
---
For the second time in three months
tragedy struck the family of Mr.
and Mrs. William L. Koch, 622 Washington
Avenue, when they were informed this
morning by the Navy Department that
their son, William L. Koch, Jr.,
Ensign, USNR, had died Monday as a
result of an air plane accident at
Pensacola, Florida.

The telegram was delivered only three
hours after Mr. and Mrs. Koch, and
their daughter, Miss Peggy Koch, had
returned from the south where they
visited Ensign Koch, at Pensacola;
and his brother, Aviation Cadet,
John Koch, at Maxwell Field, Alabama.

Frederick T. Koch, another brother of
the Ensign, died June 13, 1943, in a
Winston-Salem, N.C. hospital as a
result of injuries he sustained in an
automobile accident the previous night
near that city.

The message from the Commandant of the
Pensacola air base to Mr. and Mrs. Koch
read in part:

"Deeply regret to inform you that your
son, William L. Koch, Jr., Ensign, USNR,
died Sept. 20, as a result of an airplane
accident."

No details of the nature of the mishap,
or where it occurred were included.

Native of Dunkirk
Ensign Koch, who was 23 years old last
month, was a native of Dunkirk. He was
a graduate of St. Mary's Academy, and of
Canterbury School at New Milford, Connecticut.

He then enrolled at the Wharton School
at the University of Pennsylvania, in
Philadelphia, and was in his junior year
when he enlisted in the Naval Reserve.
At the time he left the university,
William was Vice President of the Delta
Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Ensign Koch took his flight training at
Chapel Hill, N.C., and at Peru, Indiana.
He was commissioned in May 1943, at the
Pensacola air base, and was a fighter
pilot.

After receiving his commission, Ensign
Koch was assigned as instructor and was
stationed at Whiting Field, at the Pensacola
air base.

On July 1, he completed a flight instructional
school course at Atlanta, GA, and was
made a member of the Loyal and Unique
Order of I.I.I.S., a special honor for
instrument flying conferred so far on
only 83 pilots in the U.S. Navy. Only
two other members of the Dunkirk man's
class received the award.

Arrangements are being made to have the
body brought to Dunkirk for burial.
++++++++++
The Dunkirk Evening Observer
Dunkirk, New York
Wednesday, 22 September 1943
Page 4

ENSIGN KOCH'S BODY WILL ARRIVE
IN CITY ON THURSDAY NIGHT

The body of Ensign William L. Koch, Jr.,
USNR, who was killed Monday, in an airplane
crash at Whiting Field near the Pensacola,
FLA., Naval Air Base, will arrive in
Dunkirk late Thursday night.

Funeral services for the young naval officer
will be held at 10 o'clock Saturday morning
in St. Mary's Church.

Ensign Koch was pilot of one of two
training planes which collided Monday over
Whiting Field. Two other naval fliers
lost their lives in the accident.
++++++++++
Miami News
Miami, Florida
Wednesday, 22 September 1943
Page 3

NAVY PLANE CRASH KILLS 3 NEAR PENSACOLA

Pensacola, Sept. 22--(INS)--A collision
of two planes in mid-air over Whiting
Field, 18 miles east of Pensacola, in
which three naval airmen were killed, was
announced Wednesday.

The victims were Ensign William L. Koch,
of Dunkirk, NY; and Aviation Cadets,
John Copeland, Livingstone, Texas; and
Joshua Deangelis, Dorchester, Mass.

Ensign Robert L. Simmons survived the crash
which occurred Monday, when he bailed out in
a parachute.
++++++++++
The Dunkirk Evening Observer
Dunkirk, New York
Friday, 24 September 1943
Page 11

FUNERAL SERVICES SATURDAY MORNING
FOR ENSIGN KOCH
--
Body Arrived Thursday Night From
Pensacola, Fla. Base

The body of Ensign William L. Koch, Jr.,
USNR, who was killed in an airplane
accident in Pensacola, Fla., Monday,
arrived in Dunkirk at 10 p.m. Thursday.
Acting as escort was Ensign Richard
Bridy, a fraternity brother of Ensign
Koch's at the University of Pennsylvania,
where both enlisted. They took their
training together and both were instructors
at the Pensacola Air Base.

The body is at the residence of Mr. and
Mrs. William Koch, 622 Washington Avenue,
where friends may call.

Funeral services will be held at 10
o'clock Saturday morning at St. Mary's
Church, where a requiem high mass will
be celebrated. Burial will follow in
the parish cemetery.

Military services were held at the
Pensacola base before the body was
moved from there.