| Graduation Year | Class of 1931 |
| Date of Birth | Sep 12, 1912 |
| Date of Passing | Sep 08, 1944 |
| About | Lt. W. Foster War Fatality Second Lieut. William J. Foster, 33, USMCR, who was listed as missing early in October, has now been reported killed in action on Guam on September 8, according to a telegram received Thursday by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Foster, and his son, Carlton Foster, from the commandant of the Marine Corps, Lt. Gen. A. A. Vandegrift. Lt. Foster was born in Petoskey on September 24, 1912, and went to Charlevoix at the age of ten. He graduated from the Charlevoix high school and attended Alma College and the University of Detroit. For four years he owned and operated the Foster Beverage Company, with offices in Petoskey. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in January, 1943, and received training at Parris Island, S. C., and New River, N. C., before attending officers' candidate school at Quantico, Va. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in August, 1943, and after further training at Dunedin, Fla., and Oceanside, Calif., left for overseas duty in January, 1944. He is known to have participated in three major campaigns in the Pacific war zone, the Marshall Islands, Saipan and Guam. Surviving besides his parents and adopted son are three brothers, Lt. John T., with the Navy Air Force, Lake City, Fla.; Maurice, Y1-c, of the Navy, stationed in the Panama Canal Zone; Robert, of Kalamazoo, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Foster, of Petoskey. Another brother, S-Sgt. Bernard J. Foster, gunner on a B-17 bomber stationed in southern Italy, died of injuries received in a crash at the base on August 26. A funeral mass will be said at the St. Mary's church at Charlevoix at 9 o'clock Friday, December 15. |
