Franklin C. (Buzz) Williams II

• Lieutenant
• Served: 1942 – 1945
• World War II – Injured by a track on a tank
• Torpedo Officer

Deceased July 7, 1993

Buzz was a torpedo officer. He served for part of his tour of duty on Attu Island, Alaska.* He was injured while standing on a tracked vehicle and was sent back to Seattle for convalescence. He was given a medical discharge. He married Helen Merker in 1947 in Milwaukee, WI, and had three sons. He retired in 1982 to Tucson, Arizona and Crab Lake, Wisconsin.

*In the Battle of Attu, the main conflict of the Aleutian Islands Campaign during World War II (1939-45), American and Japanese armies fought from May 11 to May 30, 1943, for control of Attu, a small, sparsely inhabited island at the far western end of Alaska’s Aleutian chain in the North Pacific. In June 1942, Japan had seized Attu and its neighbor Kiska, then established garrisons on the remote, U.S.-owned islands. The reason for taking Attu and Kiska, known for their barren, mountainous terrain and harsh weather, might have been to divert U.S. forces during Japan’s attack on Midway Island (June 4-7, 1942) in the central Pacific. It’s also possible the Japanese believed holding the two islands would prevent the U.S. from invading Japan via the Aleutians. Either way, the Japanese occupation was a blow to American morale. In May 1943, U.S. troops finally retook Attu and in August reclaimed Kiska.