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Vasil William "Bill" Klyasheff - World War II

Bill Klyasheff was drafted into the Army in February, 1943, but following basic training, was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Force. He served in the European theater with the 327th Fighter Control Squadron, whose mission was to help guide U.S. fighter pilots to enemy targets, then back home again safely. Klyasheff's unit landed at Utah Beach on June 9th, 1944, only three days after the initial landing. The 327th saw combat in France and Belgium before ending the war in Germany.

Interview Links

Abstract

Interview Session 01 (Audio)

Photos

Caption

Bill Klyasheff in 1943.

Where:

Unknown

When:

1943

Ownership:

Narrators Photo

Caption

Bill Klyasheff with Rochelle Michaux. Rochelle’s father owned a Catholic meeting hall where Bill and others in the 327th Fighter Control Squadron were billeted during their time in Belgium in the fall of 1944.

Where:

Belgium

When:

1944

Ownership:

Narrator’s photo

Caption

Members of the 327th Fighter Control Squadron track the action on the front lines while the unit is somewhere in Verviers, Belgium in late 1944. Klyasheff is not in this photo.

Where:

Verviers, Belgium

When:

1944

Ownership:

Narrator’s photo

Caption

Sergeant Klyasheff, on the left, with fellow soldiers at the captured SS headquarter in Weimar, Germany in the spring of 1945. Note the maps of the Pacific theater in the background.

Where:

Weimar, Germany

When:

1045

Ownership:

Narrator’s photo

Caption

The 327th was stationed at Camp Detroit in Laon, France while they waited for the orders to ship to the Pacific for the invasion of Japan during the summer of 1945.

Where:

Camp Detroit in Laon, France

When:

1945

Ownership:

Narrator’s photo

Caption

This map of the 327th Fighter Control Squadron’s route through Europe was included in the unit’s own record of their wartime experiences, which was apparently self-published shortly after the unit returned to the United States in December, 1945.

Where:

Unknown

When:

December, 1945

Ownership:

This image is considered to be in the public domain.