William Bernard Keller was the son of Willis L. Keller and Minnie Yearout.
He and his neighbor and best friend Horace Samuel Stephens enlisted together. They both were sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for training and participated in war preparation maneuvers in the Fall of 1941. They returned to Fort Sill later in 1942 for more training and participated in training on the coast in Florida and North Carolina. They were deployed to England in February of 1944. As their LCT 457 carrying over 50 soldiers, heavy artillery and tanks approached Utah Beach at about 9:00 A.M. of June 6, 1944, it hit a mine about a mile off the coast. There were many casualties, including Horace Stephens and William Bernard Keller. Their remains were never recovered. He is memorialized at Normandy American Cemetery.
Corporal Keller was assigned to the B Battery, 29th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. The B Battery mission was to provide support fire for the 8th Infantry Regiment assualt troops on Utah beach during the invasion for Normandy on June 6, 1944.
- Rank: Corporal
- Date of birth: 24 May 1918
- Date of death: 6 June 1944
- County: Blount
- Hometown: Maryville
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 29th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Infantry Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Battles: Normandy Campaign
- Awards: Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France
- Location In Memorial: Pillar VI, Bottom Panel
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