George Garrett “Bill” Stover registered for the draft in February of 1942 and entered the Army Air Corps on July 2 as a private, according to the Stories Behind the Stars program. After training he was assigned to the 32nd Photographic Squadron, 54th Reconnaissance Group. Stover and his unit embarked on the SS Paul Hamilton in April of 1944, bound for Venusa, Italy and the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The ship departed on its fifth voyage from Hampton Roads, Virginia as part of Convoy UGS 38, carrying supplies, ammunition and ground personnel of the 485th Bombardment Group and the 5th Reconnaissance Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces. The convoy included dozens of merchant ships, two Navy tankers and a Coast Guard vessel.

On the evening of April 20, 1944, the convoy was attacked by 23 German Junkers Ju-88 torpedo bombers. The location was about 30 miles from Cape Bengut near Algiers, Algeria in the Mediterranean Sea. One aerial torpedo hit the Hamilton, igniting explosives in the hull. The ship, her entire crew and passengers, a total of 580 men, were lost in 30 seconds. Forty-one of the lost lives were from Pennsylvania.

The Hamilton’s losses were the worst suffered by any U.S. Liberty ship during World War II, according to Stories Behind the Stars. Only one body was recovered from the tragedy. The destroyer USS Lansdale and SS Royal Star were also sunk during the attack.

Stover was born on Oct. 4, 1921 in Hughesville to George H. and Mabel K. Stover. His father was a laborer for a street railroad, and his mother was a cook for a private family. The family moved to the Williamsport area and also included Stover’s older half-brother, one younger sister and two older half-sisters. Stover graduated from South Williamsport High School in 1941 and worked for the Bethlehem Steel Co. in Williamsport before enlisting. He married Pauline A. Tietbohl on Oct. 25, 1942 in Williamsport and they had a son, Michael Floyd Stover.

The explosion of the SS Paul Hamilton, after a German torpedo ignited her cargo of explosives. Note the splashes from the debris in the water. "2191-36." "U.S. Coast Guard Official Picture, 3rd Naval District." Mediterranean Sea (near Algiers), 20 April 1944.

According to Stories Behind the Stars, he was listed on the Tablets of the Missing, North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia. Stover posthumously received the Purple Heart.

Volunteers from the non-profit Stories Behind the Stars have written memorials honoring all 41 Pennsylvanians who died in the disaster. Stories Behind the Stars memorials are accessible for free on the internet and via smartphone app at gravesites and cenotaphs. The non-profit organization is dedicated to honoring all 421,000 fallen Americans from World War II, including 31,000 from Pennsylvania. More information can be found at www.storiesbehindthestars.org.