William Frank McKibben was born in Tennessee in 1922, the son of William Leonard McKibben and Jessie C. Pruett. He graduated at Central High School in Chattanooga in 1939.

William McKibben was lost in the sinking of the USS Asheville PG-21 by Japanese naval forces on March 3, 1942, 250 miles south of Java. This listing does not include the lone survivor, Fred Brown, who was picked up by the Japanese but later died in their prison camp on the Island of Celebes about March 15, 1945. William McKibben was officially declared dead on 25 November 1945.

Memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery, Philippines

  • Rank: Seaman First Class
  • Date of death: 3 March 1942
  • County: Hamilton
  • Hometown: Chattanooga
  • Service Branch: Navy
  • Division/Assignment: USS Asheville
  • Conflict: World War II
  • Awards: Purple Heart
  • Burial/Memorial Location: Manila American Cemetery, Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines
  • Location In Memorial: Pillar XI, Top Panel
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