William Everett Stulce was born on 19 November 1922 in Daisy, Tennessee to Hardy Miller Stulce and Lillie Etta Layne.
Died 18 September 1945
Lieutenant
U.S. Navy
William Everette Stulce died near Palmer, Tennessee due to an airplane crash.
The Kingsport News
Navy Lieutenant killed as plane explodes, crashes. Chattanooga – Lt (j.g.) William E. Stulce of nearby Daisy, a veteran of Pacific air campaigns, was killed in the explosion and crash of his Navy fighting plane during a flight Tuesday from Northern Field, Tenn., to Lovell Field here.
His body and the wreckage of the plane were found early Wednesday by search crews from Northern Field. Other pilots in the flight reported at Northern Field that Stulce’s plane was smoking and losing altitude when he turned it over to parachute out. The plane exploded at that instant, he said.
Lieutenant Stulce fought over Okinawa Jima in April 1945.
The Chattanooga Daily Times, 27 January 1944
Lt. (jg) William E. Stulce of Daisy, veteran of 26 air combat missions in the Pacific theater, was killed Tuesday at noon when his fighter plane exploded during a flight from Northern Field, Camp Forrest, Tenn., to Lovell Field, military authorities announced yesterday. En route to Lovell Field, where his plane had been based during the tropical storm that lashed the Florida area, Lt. Stuce, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Hardie M. Stulce, Daisy and brother of Flight Officer Arnold A. Stulce, army air force pilot, died when his plane fell into a wooded area near Palmer and Tracy City, Tenn. Other pilots of his group said his plane began losing altitude and smoking. He was seen to parachute from the stricken ship seconds before an explosion tore it apart and it was not determined whether he died from the explosion or from the fall. The other pilots said his plane was so low when he parachuted that it was doubtful his parachute had opened sufficiently to check the fall. Searching parties from Camp Forrest located his body at 2 a.m. yesterday.
Lt. Stulce had been stationed at the Melbourne, Fla., navy air base for some time and was one of a group of approximately 110 navy and marine pilots who brought their ships to haven at Lovell Field to escape the Florida storm. His group spent several days here before flying to Camp Forrest.
A graduate of Soddy-Daisy High School and student at the University of Chattanooga for two years before entering navy V-5 training, Lt. Stulce received his commission and wings at Pensacola, Fla., in February, 1944. He took basic training at Duke University; went from there to the University of Georgia for secondary instruction and received navy primary training at Olathe, Kan. Lt. Stulce was one of the most popular students at the University of Chattanooga, when he was a member of the school band.
Photo courtesy; Maureen Keillor
- Rank: Lieutenant
- Date of birth: 19 November 1922
- Date of death: 18 September 1945
- County: Hamilton
- Hometown: Daisy
- Service Branch: Navy
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, 5 Air Medals
- Burial/Memorial Location: Chattanooga Memorial Park, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN
- Location In Memorial: Pillar X, Middle Panel
- Contact us to sponsor William E. Stulce
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