Dabney, William Garfield, born in 24-06-1924 in Altavista, Virginia, 
the youngest of nine children born to Edgar Stephenson Dabney (1884–1963) and Elinor Helena, born Whitlock; (1890–1937). They all lived on the family farm near Altavista, Virginia. When he was 12, his mother, Elinor, died. His maternal grandparents had died before he was born and his paternal grandparents, Fleming Dabney (1851–1926) and Martha Payne (1856–1933) died when he was young. After the loss of his mother, he went to live with his maternal grandmother’s sister, Carretta Bailey (born Carretta Augusta Lee; 1875–1970) in Roanoke.
Dabney enlisted in the US Army 
09-12-1942 – at age 18 years, 5 months – before graduating from high school. Williuam was initially assigned to the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, Mine Planter Service. 
Dabney’s Army serial number began with “1,” which indicated he voluntarily enlisted. The other soldiers teased him about enlisting, and every time he complained about something, the other troops said he did not need to be there – he had volunteered.
Dabney was a corporal in the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, 
the only all-black unit in the D-Day landings on Omaha and Utah, the two beachheads assigned to American forces.
The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion was a VLA (Very Low Altitude) barrage balloon battalion. It “was raised up in 1942 just a year after the Coast Artillery Corps took over responsibility for barrage balloons from the Army Air Corps.” The 320th trained at Camp Tyson in Paris, Tennessee. In November 1943, they relocated to England to prepare for the invasion of Europe.
On 06-06-1944, soldiers from the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion were scattered in landing craft up and down Utah and Omaha Beaches. Among them was 22-year-old Thomas E. McKinley Jr. 
On D-Day, McKinley served as a Balloon Gas Handler and Balloon Crewman, two critical and dangerous jobs. Enduring intense enemy fire in the first wave of the assault, the 320th accomplished their mission, and their balloons were successfully landed and flown. By June 21, 141 balloons were protecting Omaha and Utah Beaches.
The barrage balloons 
were on long cables that would be caught by the wings or propellers of German airplanes, and if the planes pulled the balloons into contact, explosives on the helium balloons would destroy the aircraft. On D-Day, three German fighters were downed by barrage balloons as they tried to strafe the American soldiers on the beach.
The unit’s last surviving member, Henry Parham, 
passed away in 04-07-2021 at the age of 99.
After the war, Bill Dabney returned to a still segregated Roanoke, where he graduated from high school and then earned an electrical engineering degree. But discrimination prevented him from following his trade, so he became a carpet layer and ran his own business for 40 years.
On 22-12-1951, in Lynchburg, Virginia, Dabney married Beulah Ma, born Cardwell ). They had three sons: Vincent Garfield Dabney, Michael Glenn Dabney (1954–2019), and Marlon Dabney.
William Garfield. Dabney sat for an interview and gave an oral history of his life and his experiences to The National WWII Museum in 2013. His interview was digitally recorded; transcripts and videos are available online.
Death and burial ground of Dabney, William Garfield.
Dabney died on December 12-12-2018, at the age of 94 in Roanoke, Virginia. William is buried at Williams Memorial Park in the South Washington Heights neighborhood of Roanoke.
On 05-06-2009 (the 65th anniversary of D-Day), as the 320th’s last known survivor, Dabney was awarded a Knight of the French Legion of Honor 
in Normandy (France). In recognition of his services during World War II, William Garfield Dabney was also given the key to the City of Roanoke, Virginia.
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