History of William Edmund Sanderson

He never liked his middle name, and sometimes would write it Edward. When he was born his middle name was spelled Edmond, in approximately 1944, he changed the spelling of Edmond on his birth certificate to Edmund. In 1955, at the age of thirty nine, his weight was 165 pounds and in 1970, at the age of fifty four, his weight was still 165 pounds. His eyes were brown and he had dark naturally curly hair turning gray/silver with age. He kept a full head of hair until the day he died. Hobbies included: fishing, hunting, golf, and flying airplanes. He held a commercial pilot's license after returning home from World War II. He was trained at the Dell Carnegie leadership training course. The above information is taken off of his personal experience record found in his desk after he died, and from his Daughter Cheryl Austin.

Bill as he was called was born November 5, 1916 in Kemmer, Wyoming to George William Sanderson and Bessie Edmund “Lehmer” Sanderson. The Sanderson's left Kemmerer, Wyoming, on July 9, 1915 for Pocatello Idaho; to make their home were George Sanderson was engaged in the dry goods business. They later moved back to Kemmer, and”Bill” spent his grade school days in Kemmer Wyoming. His father, George was a painter and paper hanger, as well as owning the paint and wallpaper store. Bill work at the store and helped his father manage it, had fired a grown man as early as eight years old. As the story is told by his daughter, a man came to work drunk and was sent home and told he was not to return, by the eight-year-old Bill. His relatives, the Lehmer’s were cattle people. Bill helped on cattle drives including, chuck wagons etc like the “Wild West” movies. He told me he spent enough time on horseback to know how dusty and saddle sore a real cowboy gets. He had some pretty rough uncles, some were miners other cattleman. The famous outlaw Butch Cassidy was known to hide out with some of his uncles.

The economy slowed down in Kemmer, and some mines closed affecting the Sanderson’s business. They choose to sell the store and move elsewhere to find employment. The family moved to Alturas, California, as reported by Bills Wife, Ruth Althea “Woods” Sanderson. While in California the great depression had started and things were lean for the Sanderson family. Young Bill hunted waterfowl to help feed the family. Bill said that he shot so many ducks with a shotgun that to add some challenge to it he shoot ducks out of the air with his 22 rifle. In California Bill attended Modoc Junior High, where he was active in sports and student government. At 14 years of age he had lettered in basketball, football, baseball and track. He told me that the coach told him the football was his best sport and to pursue it. He served as the Commissioner of boys sports from 1930 to 1931. His yearbook states that the “Modoc Papooses” went to the Northern California state championship in basketball and lost the championship game 21-9 against Orville. Bill was team captain. While in California, his father George continued to work as a painter. Grandma Sanderson explained that there was a misunderstanding with his employer and promises made to George were broken. When George did not get paid for work he had done the family packed up and where on their way back to Kemmer, Wyoming. They were traveling by automobile and stopped in Elko, Nevada. George found work, again painting homes. So the family rented a place to live and made Elko, Nevada their home. Elko, Nevada is where George and Bessie Sanderson ended up making their home for the remainder of their lives.

To help bring in some income they invited some of the local rancher’s children to live with them so they could attend school in town. Later in life, Bessie managed the local Knapp Hotel. It was owned by one of the boys who was now grown and had a family of his own and had lived in their home while attending school. Bessie also served as the Matron in the Eastern Star in Elko. Bessie Sanderson, Bills Mother, died on August 15, 1972, while visiting her daughter Ida Bess “Sanderson” Williams and William Dangberg Williams in Butte, Montana. Bessie was 76 years old.

Bills dad, George was active in the Masonic Lodge, his granddaughter Cheryl Ray Sanderson Austin remembers that he smoked a pipe most of his adult life. He also loved to read mystery books and play baseball. He played professionally as a young man for a team in Pocatello Idaho. George also loved to fish and would take the family on vacation to Jar Bridge Mountain/Renault River in Nevada in the summers. This became a family tradition.

Bill taught his two daughters Sandy and Cheryl to fish. They would catch lots of fish and freeze them when they got home. Cheryl Austin, Bills youngest daughter states, her grandparents would eat those fish the rest of the year. George took great pride in his wife Bessie, and she in turn, treated him like a king. My mother Cheryl remembers that Bessie would get up early every morning and start the fire in the old wood burning stove. She would fix sourdough pancakes and was the best cook. Laundry was done once a week in an old wringer washer. Bill was in-charge of firewood, which he did for the rest of his parent’s life. No matter where he lived, he would come home and spend time during Christmas vacation, and also during his three weeks summer vacation making sure enough wood was chopped for his mom and dad. They used the wood for cooking and to heat their home. George died on October 10, 1963 at the age of 81 in Elko Nevada. He and Bessie are buried in the Masonic Cemetery at Elko Nevada.

“Bill” William Edmund Sanderson spent four years at Elko County high school. He graduated with honors earning a scientific diploma in 1934, this included four years of math, two years of bookkeeping and typing. He was also class vice president, student body vice president his junior year. His senior year he was class president and student body president. He was a four-year letterman in basketball, and two year letterman in track. He was also a two-year letterman in baseball and football. He was a member of the National Honorary Society and received an athletic scholarship to the University of Nevada in baseball, he played third base. He also passed the entrance examination to the US Coast Guard, but the depression had affected his family and so he choose to stay home and help his family. Thus he did not go to college, or accept his scholarship to play sports at the University of Nevada.

He went to work full time after graduating from high school. Years later when he filled out a job application for Standard Oil it included the following work experience: 1) Two years part-time grocery store clerk, while attending high school. 2) Telegraph Company-primarily on construction of telephone lines. 3) A salesman pumping gas.

On October 3, 1935 he started work with Standard Oil Company working for one year as a salesman pumping gas. He spent a month in Sacramento, California, a month in Reno Nevada and the rest of the year in Elko Nevada. Standard Oil was split up, and Bill went with Standard Oil of California, starting in 1936. From 1936 to 1938 he worked as a wholesale clerk with Standard Oil of California, this included driving tanker trucks hauling fuel.

On July 3, 1938 he married Ruth Althea Woods at the Sanderson home in Elko Nevada. The home is located across the street from the old Elko High School and Cemetery. Bill and Ruth spent their honeymoon on a trip to Yellowstone National Park. On December 6, 1940, Ruth gave birth to their first child, a daughter, they named her Sandra Lee. Sandra was born in the Elko County Hospital, Elko Nevada.

In 1938 Bill was promoted to a wholesale clerk. It wasn’t long after that he was given some leadership responsibilities when he was assigned to cover for vacationing “Head Area Salesman” in; Carlin, Wells, and Rio Tinto, Nevada. From September of 1941 Bill was a wholesale salesman and warehouseman [“A” ?] in Elko Nevada for five months. He was then transferred to Salt Lake City, Utah in February of 1942 and worked in Salt Lake City as a wholesale salesman.

In January of 1943 he joined the United States Army Air Force and spent 13 months, until February of 1944, as an aviation cadet. His ground school was in Santa Ana California, and pilot training in Dos Palos California. He then went to Las Vegas, Nevada for gunnery training. He was then trained as a navigator, graduating from Navigator Training School at Ellington Field, Texas on December 26, 1944. He was part of Class 44-3 of the 342nd navigation training squadron (2nd Lieut. in the Army Air Force). After graduation his flight crew was formed and trained for two months at Tucson Arizona. He completed phase training in Tucson, AZ that included flying B-24 B, D, E, J, specializing in night training, a total of 37 flights. Bill was transferred to Lincoln, Nebraska by train. On May 24, 1944 his crew ferried a B-24 from Lincoln, Nebraska to Syracuse, New York and from Syracuse to Grenier and from Grenier to Goose-Bay and from Goose Bay to Iceland and from Iceland to Wales where the overseas fairy ended on May 29 of 1944. His first training mission in England was on June 13, 1944. He flew another six training missions from England- cross country. He and his crew did an additional 13 training and ferry flights with the last six of the 13 being nighttime flying.

He was assigned to the 492 bomb group of eighth Air Force, along with: Jon W. Fox-Pilot from Britt, Iowa; Edward F. Haldeman-Copilot-1811 Ardmore Blvd., Forest Hills Pennsylvania; Edmund M. Erickson-Bombardier-La Porte, Minnesota; William E. Sanderson-Navigator- 673 Ninth Street-Elko Nevada; John J. Considine-Radio Operator-7843 south Sangamon St-Chicago, Illinois; Joseph Newcomb-Tail Gunner- 34 north Scott St. Carbondale, Pennsylvania; William D Cox-Engineer-414 East Main St Madison, Indiana; Richard J. Macone- Waist Gunner- Lang St Concorde, Massachusetts.

The crews’ first combat mission was from England to France at night. The mission took six hours and 20 minutes on July 10, 1944. The 492nd bomb group was “charged with dropping off supplies and personnel to French and Belgian underground on pinpoint targets at night behind enemy lines. Missions were single ship and unescorted. 24 missions were out of England when the lines were moving back and stopped work. Then they hauled seven loads of gasoline by air, landing just behind the lines in Belgium. No mission credit awarded at the time. (In a letter home to his mother he stated he was hauling gas and they were told it wasn’t supposed to be dangerous. However there must be termites in the sky because the ship (B-24 airplane) kept coming home with holes in it). After that, he was transferred to Italy to set up supply of the underground in Italy, Greece and Yugoslavia and instead of flying four more missions needed to finish tour, was forced to fly 24 more before rotation home. Later received credit for 7 gas hauls, so total combat missions was 57. Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Six Clusters, European Campaign with four stars”. This information was taken from William E. Sanderson Standard Oil personal experience record dated 8/31/1955)

1st Lt W.E. Sanderson-0-712424

Summary of navigation time: Student = 110:45

Night = 316:20

Day = 305:40

Total Navigation Time = 732:45

Total Combat Time =312:35

*Note: Bill talked very little of his time during World War II. He once told a story to Vaughan Maxfield Austin (son-in-law) of dropping a young woman out of a plane. She was part of French underground and would sneak information out then they would fly her back in. Apparently on one of these missions, there was a lot of resistance (shooting at planes etc.). The crew tried to talk her out of jumping. She was brave and parachuted anyway. Bill said that when the parachute opened that a searchlight caught the young woman and the machine gun fire perforated her.

Grandpa Bill told me, his grandson Todd Austin one night while at Lake Powell on a boating trip when I was a young man, that his plane was hit many times with flak. He said that he had been hit personally with flak, and it fractured his ribs. He explained that they wore heavy flak coats to protect them.

In his Distinguished Flying Cross metal case, there is a newspaper article that reads as follows: Lt Gen. Pierre Koenig, commanding general of the French forces of the interior and military governor of Paris presented the “Croix de Guerre” two officers and enlisted men of the eighth Air Force who have played a leading part in the planning and execution of operations through which tons of machine guns, small arms, ammunition and other supplies have been parachuted from ETO (European theater of Operations) bombers to the Maquis in France. The presentation ceremony took place at the Liberator Station, commanded by Col. Clifford J. Heffin of Fresno, California, now on leave in the United States, whose group was the first Eighth Air Force unit to fly spies to the French Forces long before the day."

Following Lt W.E. Sanderson’s time overseas, he was sent back to United States to Santa Monica, California to a post-combat rest camp. He spent two months from April to June of 1945 at that camp. He was then assigned to Ellington Field, Texas as an instructor, but had earned enough points to make possible separation from the Army so he returned home to Salt Lake City Utah in June of 1945.

The above History was started in late 2003 and early 2004 just before Ruth passed away. This history was compiled and written by Todd William Austin with the help of Ruth Sanderson, Cheryl Rae “Sanderson” Austin and Vaughan Maxfield Austin. Most of this information came from a suitcase of Grandpa Bills I found. After my grandfather W.E.Sanderson “Bill” died, his wife, Ruth moved from a home above the Provo Temple to a condo next to Riverside country club in Provo. I was in college and just home from my mission, very busy. I arrived at Grandma Sanderson new condo as soon as I could, following class, to help her move. My dad had organized the move having young men from his ward help. When I arrived they were pretty much done with the move. I asked to see what I could do to help. My mom and dad told me that there was a trailer parked in the driveway full of stuff that grandma didn't want. It was going to be taken to Desert Industries. They told me to look through and take anything I wanted. I said a quick prayer to have help, to know if there was anything that I should get off the trailer. I felt impressed to grab an old leather suitcase. I put the suit case in my truck and didn’t look thru it or open it until later. When I got home and opened it up it contained letters from his parents and to his parents from during the time he survived during WWII. It also had grandpas and his mothers’ yearbooks, army graduation year books, marriage certificates, birth certificates of his parents along with Grandpa Sanderson's flight logbook from World War II. It also had a few instruments his flight log book and pictures with information written on the back of pictures, such as his crew from World War II. The majority of this history of WWII time came from information found in that suitcase. Once I got home and opened it and gave it to my mother, who has done a marvelous work and continues doing our Sanderson families genealogical and Temple work. She gave the letters to her older sister Sandy who is working on typing them up. It is a testimony to me that the spirit of Elijah was working that day.

As I retype what I started years ago I have a few personal memories I would like to share of my Grandpa Sanderson. He was always kind and thoughtful of his grandchildren. He would give us a 50 cent piece at the end of our school year. After he retired he finished a couple of rooms in my parents’ basement. I remember he got the biggest kick out of my little sister Sabrina Rex and how she would sit on a 2 X 4 and watch him work, as he finished some of our basement. He would say if anything ever goes wrong or you want to know what I did just ask Sabrina. She stayed with him all day long, day in and day out. He would have her hand him things and was so patient and cute with her.

He stopped smoking cold turkey when I was about 2-3 years old. My dad reports he never wanted to smoke in front of his grandchildren. We went with them on their annually fishing trip to Jarbridge. He quit smoking on the trip and never picked it up again. I remember he always had black licorice and I didn’t understand that was one of his substitutes he used to help him quit smoking. Once he set his mind to something he had the will power to stick with it.

When I was about 10 years old some of the neighbor kids started playing golf with whiffle balls in our yard. My Grandpa and Grandma Sanderson played a lot of golf and had lots of clubs and golf stuff. I asked him if I could have an old golf club like a 6-7 iron that I could use to play with the neighborhood kids. (My Grandpa Austin had given my older Brother Mark some of his old golf cubs). So after I asked for a club, Grandpa Sanderson took me down stairs in his golf ball room. He started looking thru Grandmas old clubs. Grandma wasn’t sure she could let any of her old clubs go. Grandpa talked her into giving me a whole set including a bag.

On Sunday nights we would drive to Edgemont and Provo to see both sets of our Grandparents. As kids we knew that at Grandpa and Grandma Sanderson they would always have treats for us. One Sunday Grandma was making us root beer floats. Grandma started to put them in normal glasses. Grandpa had her put the normal glasses away and get the Gold rimed fancy glasses instead. Those glasses became the norm. He had a way of making his grandchildren feel like you were very important. It didn’t matter who was visiting when we showed up he stopped whatever he was doing to greet us and make us feel important.

I have talked to my Cousin Dan Wortham and Grandpa made him feel the same way. We all felt like we were his favorite.

After he retired he bought a boat and a pool table so we could do things with him. I remember coming home from football or baseball practice and Grandpa and Grandma would show up with the boat to take us water skiing. Before he retired when Grandpa and Grandma Sanderson lived in Provo, he would take Mark sometimes Michelle and I up the hill to the grade school playground to play.

After Grandpa and Grandma Sanderson had moved to Albuquerque, NM, our family would drive to New Mexico and have Thanksgiving dinner with them. Grandpa would walk us to the horse stable down the hill from their home to show us the horses. On some of our trips to see them they took the whole family in their Cadillac, (Grandpa and Grandma always drove nice cars) to Old Mexico and once we drove to Carlsbad Cavern. On the trip to Carlsbad Cavern we arrived just as the tours of the cavern closed. It was a long drive with all 8 of us in the same car. My sister Malinda Atkinson would only sit on my Dads lap. My other sister Michelle Jensen would get the front seat on the arm rest to keep her from being teased to death by her older brothers. Grandpa and Grandma both got a kick out of Malinda she was always so cute. We ended up getting a motel and spending the night and seeing the cave the next day. Grandma Sanderson wanted to buy one tooth brush and share it between us all. My dad was not in favor of being that close of a family.

Once on the opening of the pheasant hunt Grandpa Sanderson came and got my Dad, Mark and me to go pheasant hunting with him in Spanish Fork, UT. My mom reports he loved to hunt pheasants. She said he would take their little dog Jade pheasant hunting with him. I think Jade was a cocker spaniel and my mom reports how he got a kick out of watching that little dog get those roosters in the air.

Grandpa and Grandma Sanderson would attend church whenever we gave a talk or were baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After they moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and came for a visit they would come with us to sacrament meeting. Grandpa was always very respectful while at church. He never talked bad to us about the church.

Just before Ruth Sanderson died I was helping her record her history. While doing this she told me the following; their neighbor that lived across the street from them when they lived above the Provo Temple was Ed J. Pinegar. He and another neighbor, Brother Anderson, were Grandpa and Grandmas Sanderson’s home teachers. Grandma Sanderson was a less active member of the church and Grandpa Sanderson was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This faithful home teacher had been slowly working on Grandpa teaching him a little at a time. He was writing a book and would ask Grandpa to help proof read it. Grandma reports just a day or two before he died he told her, he, thought it was time for him to take the Mormon Vows and get baptized.

Grandpa Sanderson had been golfing and had found a few golf balls, lost by other golfers. After he returned home, he went down stairs in their Provo home to a room he sorted golf ball in. He apparently lay down on the floor and had a massive heart attack and died just 2 ½ weeks before turning 63 on October 15th 1979 at his home in Provo, Utah. I well remember when Grandma called my mom to tell her that her dad had passed away.

The first Sunday after the funeral we went like always to visit Grandma. We all felt bad for grandma to be alone. We all missed grandpa so much. When we left she couldn’t figure out how to turn the lights off. She turned some on and some off then tried others. Grandpa had always turned the lights off. That became one of our new traditions. Grandma would always flash the lights on and off as we left. My dad helped her get straightened out with her check book and other questions she had to help her thru the transition. They were from an era where men and women had defined rolls. Grandma learned to take care of herself and do what Grandpa had always done for her.

William E Sanderson