Military
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A graduate of Winona High School and the United States Naval Academy Class of 1909, Ensign William Devotie Billingsley was one of the "Bird Men"—the pioneers of naval aviation, the pioneers of the test pilot generation, and the grandfathers of the astronauts. He was the first U.S. naval and military aviator to die in the line of duty when he perished in an aircraft accident over the Chesapeake Bay on June 20, 1913. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Winona.
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Winona, Mississippi · United States
