“Bombs Away”

Researching the stories of Calhoun County soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen conjures up a certain sense of awe. Their selfl ess service and challenging accomplishments are remarkable. One such memorable person is T/Sgt William Julian Mulligan (1921-1944) of Harrell, AR. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939 at the age of 18. By the time America entered WWII he was the flight engineer of a B-24 Liberator Bomber (see B-24 photo) with ball-turret gunner additional duty (see a B-24 top turret gunner photo). His aircraft #4250329 was assigned to the 700th Bomb Sqn, 445th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force at Tibenham Airfi eld, Norfolk, England. The son of Carlton (1904-1969) and Mamie Alice (1903-2004) Mulligan, William married Ann Sellers in 1941 and she resided in El Dorado, AR. They had no children. His fi rst mission was bombing U-Boat installations in Kiel, Germany on 13Dec1943. His group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for destruction of a German Aircraft assembly plant at Gotha, Germany on 24Feb1944. Another important mission was support of the Allied D-Day Invasion on 6June1944.

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