Marshall W. Williams, glider pilot, 7th Photo Reconnaissance Group

[DavidIsby]

from Facebook: National WWII Glider Pilots
·
Marshall W. Williams passed away on July 10, 2026. His funeral and burial were held yesterday, July 16, at the Baptist Church Cemetery in Seneca, South Carolina.
Marshall Woodson Williams, 103, of Madison, Georgia, known widely as "Mr. Woody," was a beloved teacher and later principal at Morgan County High School. He was also widely admired as the founder of the Morgan County Archives and for his lifelong willingness to help others.
After graduating from Seneca High School in 1939, Marshall worked for a time in his late father's shoe repair shop before volunteering for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. He trained as a glider pilot in Texas and Colorado before being transferred to a photo reconnaissance unit. He served nearly two years at RAF Mount Farm in England, where he processed aerial reconnaissance film that was vital to the Allied war effort in Europe. His unit, the 7th Photo Reconnaissance Group, was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (now the Presidential Unit Citation) for its photo reconnaissance missions over the Normandy coast between May 31 and June 30, 1944. These missions provided critical intelligence that helped prepare for the D-Day invasion.
The National WWII Glider Pilots Association was honored to know Marshall and to preserve his story through an interview published by our Association. Although he did not serve as a glider pilot during the war, his contributions to the Allied victory were significant. The aerial reconnaissance photographs processed by Marshall and his fellow servicemen provided intelligence that remains invaluable to historians and researchers today. Their work not only contributed to the success of the Normandy invasion but continues to help us understand and preserve the history of World War II. We invite you to read Marshall's story in The Briefing: https://ww2gp.org/gpBriefing/go02.pdf.