William Henry Banks, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, joined the Army in 1938 and was a Sergeant on the flight line at Wheeler Field when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. During WW II he was a P-38 flight leader with the 429th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, and flew 99 combat missions over Europe. He shot down four enemy aircraft and participated in the downing of a fifth. In 1944 his plane crashed over St. Suzanne, France (German-held territory) , and a French doctor hid him until he was able to bicycle across France. He made contact with French resistance forces who made arrangements for him to be flown out of the country and returned to his unit. During his career in the Air Force he flew the C-47, P-61, P-38, B-25, T-28, AT-6, L-21, F-86 and T-33. He received numerous awards and decorations to include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, and the Belgian Fourragere. He retired from the Air Force in 1961 after 23 years of Service. He worked as a civilian at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration until 1983. Colonel Banks was born February 3, 1920, in Hillside, NJ and grew up in an orphanage in Elizabeth, NJ. He died on April 28, 1995, and is buried at Arlington Cemetery.