William James Kirby was the son of Austin Isaac Kirby and Bessie Madeline Faulkner. Brother of Phillip Austin Kirby and Mary Elizabeth Kirby. He Enlisted on September 16, 1940, in Knoxville, TN and servedwith the U.S. Army, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
William Kirby was initially buried at Marzanello Nuovo Cemetery at Marzanello Nuovo, Italy and reburied at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, Plot F, Row 8, Grave 42.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel, 7 January 1944
Sgt. Kirby was a radio operator in a parachute infantry group. He was in the North African campaign, and was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action. Volunteering in the National Guard, 117th Infantry, under Capt. Paul Brooks, in September, 1940, Sgt. Kirby was trained at Camp Jackson, S.C. He had been overseas since April, 1943. He attended Knoxville High School. Surviving are his mother, a sister, Mary Evelyn Kirby and a brother, Pfc. Philip A. Kirby, of the U.S. Air Force.
- Rank: Technician 4th Class
- Date of birth: 16 September 1920
- Date of death: 12 December 1943
- County: Knox
- Hometown: Knoxville
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Awards: Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
- Burial/Memorial Location: Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy
- Location In Memorial: Pillar VIII, Middle Panel
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