William Manley Dexter was born on 17 March 1920 in Utica, New York to Manley E. Dexter and Flora E. Kildoyle Dexter. The family relocated to Schenectady, New York when he was a year old. A younger sister was born in 1922, followed by a brother in 1928. His father Manley, who was employed by the Freihofer Baking Company, died in 1930, leaving his widow to raise three young children.

William attended Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady, where he was active in athletics and also an Eagle Scout. After graduating in 1937, he attended the University of Michigan for two years, majoring in aeronautical engineering.

On October 11, 1940, William enlisted in the US Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet and began flight training. In May of 1941, William left the AAC to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was commissioned as a pilot officer and appointed an instructor. After the US entered the war, William left the RCAF and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in US Marine Corps in June of 1942. He went to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi for a refresher course in flight training, and then to San Diego where he received additional training to become a dive-bomber pilot. In December of 1943 he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and left for overseas duty.

Schenectady Gazette, 3 Oct 1940

Albany Times Union, 23 Jun 1942

Lt. Dexter joined Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 151 (VMSB-151), part of Marine Air Group 13, Fourth Marine Aircraft Base Defense Wing, based at Tutuila, American Samoa. VMSB-151 was engaged in daily anti-sub patrols and scouting the sea lanes in the Samoa, Wallis, and Funafuti areas, as well as in dive-bombing practice. In addition to his flying duties, Lt. Dexter also served as Assistant Radio Officer and Assistant Censor for the squadron.

In April of 1943, Lt. Dexter, along with other officers of the squadron, was temporarily attached to the Headquarters and Service Group of the Fifth Defense Battalion in Samoa.

On 26 May 1943, the Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless dive-bomber (Bureau No. 10585) that Lt. Dexter was piloting struck another aircraft. Lt. Dexter’s gunner was able to parachute out of the damaged plane and survived, but Lt. Dexter died when the plane crashed at sea. The other aircraft landed safely. Lt. Dexter’s body was recovered and buried in the cemetery at Tutuila.

May 1943 Muster Roll for VMSB-151

Schenectady Gazette, 2 Jun 1943

Lt. Dexter was later reinterred in Hawaii before being buried in the Field of Honor at Evergreen Memorial Park in Colonie, New York in 1947. Lt. Dexter’s body was among the first of the area’s war dead to be returned. He was honored by a ceremony with a Marine firing squad, National Guard Units, Schenectady Police escort, and the Mont Pleasant High School band.

Schenectady Gazette, 25 Oct 1947

1948 Application for Headstone, Lt. William Manley Dexter, USMCR

Lt. Dexter was memorialized in the 1945 Mont Pleasant High School Yearbook along with others from the school who had made the supreme sacrifice during the war. “These Men Had That Courage,” proclaimed the caption above their photographs. Lt. Dexter, along with those other young men who “had that courage,” will not be forgotten.

Lt. William M. Dexter, USMCR, 1945 Mont Pleasant High School Yearbook memorial photo

Albany Times Union, 11 Oct 1947

Schenectady Gazette, 18 Oct 1947

Story by Donna Esposito

https://www.donnaesposito.com/

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.

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References:

American Samoa Maritime Heritage Inventory

Find-A-Grave memorial for Lt. William M. Dexter

Headstone Application for Lt. William M. Dexter

Mont Pleasant High School 1945 Yearbook

The Schenectady Gazette and Albany Times Union articles at https://fultonhistory.com/

USMC Casualty Index Card for Lt. William M. Dexter

USMC Muster Rolls at Ancestry.com

U.S., Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945

VMSB-151 War Diary

William Manley Dexter (1920-1943)