1st Lt. Anna Marie Fisher, #A400727, was a World War II casualty from Kanawha County, West Virginia.

Anna was the daughter of Ernest S. Fisher, a World War I veteran, and Stella Irene (Sheils) Fisher. Born on September 29, 1921, Anna and her younger brother, Ernest Jr., grew up in Charleston, where Ernest Sr. operated a grocery store.

Anna graduated from Charleston High School and appeared in the yearbook in 1939. The 1940 census recorded that Anna was employed as a Telephone Operator.

1st Lt. Fisher enlisted in the Women's Army Corps at Ft. Hayes in Columbus, Ohio on October 24, 1942. One of her first assignments was at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. She was also assigned to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia before being shipped overseas to North Africa. Her biography, with excerpts from her wartime letters, is shared at the West Virginia Veterans Memorial, linked after this profile.

1st Lt. Fisher was a Cryptographer and was assigned to the 941st Aviation Topographic Battalion.

On April 20, 1945, she was a passenger on the transport flight, B-17G #44-6441 "Mary Rose, " which was part of the 301st Bomb Group. There were a total of 21 crew members and passengers aboard the plane. The aircraft tragically crashed on the side of a mountain in Caserta, Italy, killing all on board. The cause of the crash was thought to be poor visibility after the pilot aborted their landing.

The names of the military personnel who were killed were:

1st Lt. Robert L. Francis, Pilot
Lt. Col. Jack H. Hitt
Lt. Col. Robert L. Thomas
Capt. James C. Jones
Capt. Howard A. Leeser
Capt. David T. Parrish
Capt. Seymour S. Weisberger
1st Lt. Edward H. Carmichael
1st Lt. Anna M. Fisher
1st Lt. Anne G. Hemphill
1st Lt. Curtis M. Henderson
Maj. Kenneth J. McCarthy
M/Sgt. Otto P. Teaschner
T/Sgt. Woodrow P. Harrison
Sgt. John A. Sabas
Sgt. Millicent M. Yates
Tec. 4 George D. Burkhardt
Tec. 5 Dominick S. Caccippio
Tec. 5 Lisa Zucker
PFC Guido J. Abruzzi
PFC Frederick M. Sanders

1st Lt. Fisher was 23 years old at the time of her death. She had been on active duty for over two years and was looking forward to coming home. She was memorialized at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Italy and was buried in Plot B, Row 9, Grave 21.

1st Lt. Fisher's brother, Ernest, also served during World War II and was a POW.

1st Lt. Fisher, along with thousands of young women who served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II, helped pave the way for future generations of women in the Armed Forces.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice, 1st Lt. Fisher. You will not be forgotten.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org**). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

If you noticed anything I missed in this profile, please go to the end of this story and see “Added by” to find my contact information.

SBTSProject/West Virginia/Kanawha County

References:

1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999
U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
Italy, Find a Grave Index, 1800s-Current
U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas
U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949
West Virginia Veterans Memorial - Anna Marie Fisher (wvculture.org)
Anna M Fisher : First Lieutenant from West Virginia, World War II Casualty (honorstates.org)

Anna M Fisher