Bonham -- Lt. Col. William B. Freeman (USMC Ret.) of Bonham, Texas, died Monday, June 11, 2007 at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman. Family visitation will be Saturday, June 16th, from 10 - 11 a.m. at Wise Funeral Home in Bonham. His memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. with burial following at Willow Wild Cemetery. The Rev. Gary Gibbs will officiate.
The online guest register is at www.wisefuneralhome.com
The son of James A. Freeman and Bess Vincent Smith Freeman, Bill was born in Fannin County on Dec. 5, 1917. His great-grandfather, William C. Freeman, moved to Fannin County from Tennessee in 1842 when it was still part of the Republic of Texas.
A graduate of Bonham High School, Bill attended college at East Texas State University and Texas A&M prior to entering flight school in Corpus Christi. He finished flight school on Dec. 5, 1941 and the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor two days later. He was sent directly to California, and then on to the Solomon Islands. Flying a Grumman-Wildcat, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for six aerial combat victories over Imperial Japanese forces at Guadalcanal.
In addition, he and Charles Lindbergh collaborated on design modifications to improve the performance of the Vought Corsair, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. They continued their professional association after the war, working on further design modifications to improve the Corsair’s performance.
As a World War II Marine Corps aviator and Ace fighter pilot, he earned many military honors including a Presidential Citation. In 1944 Bonham held a “Bill Freeman Day,” and he was honored with a parade.
After the war Bill returned to Bonham and married a hometown girl, Alice Virginia Broadfoot, daughter of Judge Albert Sidney Broadfoot and Jessie Butler Broadfoot. The couple had three children, Bill Freeman Jr., Rebecca and Alisa.
Following WWII he entered Annapolis, completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering, and then he entered MIT and earned his Master’s Degree, also in Aeronautical Engineering. After earning the degrees he worked on weapons development for the Marine Corps. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1954 as a Lt. Col.
He then went to work in the aeronautical industry for a number of years, and then returned to public service in Washington, D.C., first at the Department of the Interior, and later at the newly formed Department of Energy. In 1982, after retiring from the Dept. of Energy, he returned to Bonham to be close to his mother and to look after his land investments.
He was preceded in death by his parents, James Albert and Bess Smith Freeman; wife, Alice Broadfoot Freeman; brother and brother-in-law, James A. Freeman, Jr., and Albert S. Broadfoot, Jr. (Both died serving their country in WWII), and sister, Martha Steele Freeman.
He is survived by his son, Dr. William B. Freeman Jr., daughters, Rebecca Le Freeman and Alisa Freeman Alvarez, grandchildren, Elizabeth (Bess) Reid Alvarez and James Edward Alvarez; nephew and nieces, Victor Earl Garrett, Jeana Hodge and the Rev. Jan Blankenship.
Honorary pallbearers will be: Dan Wildfong, Tom Furlow, John Kollar, Bob Gerardi, Charles Butler, James Rodgers, Red Littrell and Barney Old Coyote, Chief of the Crow Nation.