14 Names to Remember Project

14 Names to Remember | Willard Chessman

14 Names to Remember Project. Layout by Tonya Strickland. Historic graphics attributed.

Gig Harbor Now columnist Tonya Strickland researched and profiled the 14 local men whose names appear on the World War II monument at Kenneth Leo Marvin Memorial Park. Find all 14 profiles here.

Hometown: Longbranch

Branch: U.S. Army Air Corps

Rank: Staff Sergeant; waist gunner

Died: Feb. 3, 1945 | Age 22

Staff Sgt. Willard “Bill” Melvin Chessman was born Jan. 26, 1923 to Alice Maud (Eley) Chessman and Walter Ernest Chessman of Longbranch. In the 1940 U.S. Census, his siblings were Vernon, Elsie and Alta Chessman.

Bill Chessman graduated from Vaughn Union High School in 1940. His name frequently appeared in local newspapers: hanging out with the KP nature club, helping with the animals at the local 4-H and facing off against Olalla in Gig Harbor’s “first ball game of the season,” according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

On June 30, 1942, Chessman registered for WWII in Tacoma. His draft card lists him at 5-foot-6, 158 pounds, with brown hair, hazel eyes and a ruddy complexion. He entered the service on Jan. 15, 1943. By August, news reports announced he was stationed at the U.S. Army Air Force basic training center in Kearns, Utah. He also trained in aircraft inspection and maintenance at a technical command school in Inglewood, California.

Soon, Chessman deployed overseas for a two-year European assignment as waist gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber. Waist gunners defended their aircraft by shooting machine guns from open windows on bombing missions over enemy territory.

In 1945, after a 21-day furlough home with his family in Vaughn, Chessman was reassigned to Texas’ Amarillo Army Air Field along Route 66. On Feb. 3, 1945, Chessman was killed there by a hit-and-run driver on the famous highway. The Amarillo Globe-Times gave additional details three days later:

“Chessman … had been struck several hours previously and had not been dead long when found, investigators learned.”

During his time in service, Staff Sgt. Chessman received a Presidential unit citation for extraordinary heroism and was awarded the oak leaf clusters for distinguished service. He’s buried at Tacoma Cemetery.

Status: DNB – Died Non-Battle