This scholarship was established on February 13, 1950, to memorialize three graduates of the Department of Industrial Engineering (now Integrated Systems Engineering) who died in action during World War II, Lieutenants William Richard Dey, James W. Gaston and Anthony J. Musil. This scholarship is awarded to students studying industrial systems engineering.
Second Lt. Anthony Musil
Second Lt. Anthony Musil was from Cleveland, Ohio. He served as a Flight Engineer with the 882nd Bomber Squadron, 500th Bomber Group. On December 13, 1944, he was on the crew of the B-29 Superfortress #42-24687 “Tokyo Local” when they took off with approximately 70 other B-29s, from Isley Field at Saipan. They were on a bombing mission to the Mitsubishi aircraft engine factory at Nagoya, Japan.
After a successful mission, while returning to base, they were possibly hit by ground anti-aircraft fire. They were having trouble with 2 of their engines and ended up ditching into the sea off the coast of Japan. The entire crew was lost. Lt. Musil is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Second Lt. James Gaston was from Columbus, Ohio. He served as a Navigator with the 96th Bomber Group, Heavy, 339th Bomber Squadron. On July 21, 1944 he was on the crew of the B-17G #43-37573 during a mission to Regensburg when they were shot down by flak and crashed at Hussenhofen, Germany. They had been seen to fly off course through heavy cloud formations, flip over and plunge straight down. They recovered, then exploded. Some of the men were able to bail out in time, but Lt. Gaston did not survive. His body is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium.
Second Lt. William Dey was from Mentor, Ohio. He served with Company I, 3d Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82d Airborne Division in Europe. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. On April 6, 1945, Second Lieutenant Dey led a twelve-man patrol across the Rhine River to determine enemy locations and strength. Observing some enemy vehicles near a house he decided to investigate. He knocked on the door of the house, a man came to the door, then turned and fled. After the patrol fired into the house and killed one of the enemy, Second Lieutenant Dey stepped aggressively into the house where he saw from fifteen to twenty Germans. He stepped back and threw two hand grenades into the room. Continuing the reconnaissance, the patrol knocked out a 50-caliber machine gun and captured two of the enemy. On the return trip, his boat capsized, and Second Lieutenant Dey failed to return. His Silver Star citation states, “The courage and initiative of Second Lieutenant Dey reflect credit upon himself and the Airborne Forces of the United States Army.”
Military service information sourced from honorstates.org in September of 2023.
Adapted from https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/90544, March 2024.