| Residences | Civilian Occupation |
| Pennsylvania, Delaware | Plumber or pipefitter (?) for T. T. Weldin & Sons |
| Branch | Service Number |
| U.S. Army | 32751618 |
| Theater | Unit |
| Zone of Interior (American) | Company “B,” 11th Infantry Training Battalion, 3rd Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Wheeler, Georgia |
| Military Occupational Specialty | Campaigns/Battles |
| 521 (basic) | None |
Early Life & Family
Louis Henry Way, Jr. was born in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, on December 4, 1921. He was the sixth son of Louis Henry Way, Sr. (a tinsmith, 1888–1951) and Ann M. Way (née Lightcap, 1893–1972). He had two older brothers, three older sisters, and two younger sisters.
The Way family had been living at 124 North Poplar Street in Wilmington, Delaware, as of January 1, 1920. Based on Way’s birthplace, it appears that prior to his birth the family returned to Kennett Square, Way’s father’s hometown. The elder Way’s obituary suggests the family returned to Wilmington around 1928. The next census in April 1930 recorded them living at 1736 West 4th Street in Wilmington. At the time, Way’s father was working for a sheet metal roofing company.
The next census in April 1940 recorded the Way family living on Weldin Road in the Talleyville area north of Wilmington, Delaware. Both father and son were working for Woodlawn Trustees, the elder Way in maintenance and the younger Way as a gardener. The brainchild of William Poole Bancroft (1835–1928), whose family operated the Bancroft Mills, Woodlawn Trustees had parallel goals of developing affordable housing while also preserving nature areas in northern Delaware.
According to his enlistment data card, Way completed one year of high school, while the 1940 census described him as a high school graduate. Journal-Every Evening reported that Way “was a member of First and Central Presbyterian Church and the Young People’s Choir of that church.”
When Way registered for the draft on February 16, 1942, he was living on the western end of Sharpley Road, also in the Talleyville area. The registrar described Way as standing about six feet, 3¾ inches tall and weighing 190 lbs., with brown hair and hazel eyes. Way’s employer was listed as T. T. Weldin & Sons, a Wilmington plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company, though his place of employment was listed as the Dravo Corporation shipyard in Wilmington. Presumably his company was subcontracted for certain work such as pipefitting and ventilation systems aboard ships under construction. Way’s enlistment data card described his job in the category of “unskilled occupations in building transportation equipment (except automobiles and aircraft),” while his mother told the Public Archives Commission that her son was a plumber before entering the service.
Military Career
After he was drafted, Way was inducted into the U.S. Army at Camden, New Jersey, on July 22, 1942. Draftees often had the opportunity to spend a few days or weeks on inactive duty to wrap up civilian affairs. The exact day he went on active duty is unclear. One possibility is August 5, 1942, the date the Wilmington newspapers and Way’s mother listed as the date he joined the Army. After going on active duty, Private Way was attached unassigned to Company “B,” 1229th Reception Center, Fort Dix, New Jersey. New soldiers were issued uniforms, educated on military regulations, vaccinated against multiple diseases, took tests, and sat for a classification interview.
On or about August 8, 1942, Private Way and a group of trainees left Fort Dix by train for basic training at Camp Wheeler, near Macon, Georgia. Upon reporting for duty there, he was attached unassigned to Company “B,” 11th Infantry Training Battalion, 3rd Infantry Training Regiment. His basic training group was designated the 6th Cycle. In basic training, soldiers learned military customs, drill, physical conditioning, and how to use and maintain weapons.
On Sunday, September 6, 1942, Private Way had a pass to go off base. He decided to visit nearby Lakeside Park, off Jeffersonville Road east of Macon. It was a popular spot to escape the southern heat with swimming, boating, and aquatic sports, though like many attractions at that time, it was only open to white customers.
Private Way and another soldier were paddling out on the lake when their rented canoe capsized. The Macon Telegraph reported that “Pvt. Alfred Terry, his companion, swam to shore after making vain efforts to save Pvt. Way.” The paper reported that the search for Way’s body continued well into the night but it was not recovered until the following afternoon.
A military escort accompanied the casket back to Wilmington by train. Journal-Every Evening reported on September 11, 1942:
The funeral of Louis H. Way, Jr., 20 years old, of Sharpley Road, took place this afternoon at 1 o’clock with services in First and Central Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Dr. Willard G. Purdy, pastor, officiated. Interment was in Gracelawn Memorial Park.
Private Way’s parents and several of his siblings were also buried at Gracelawn after their deaths.
Notes
Assignment
Curiously, Journal-Every Evening claimed that Way was “undergoing training in the Army for service with the mechanical ground crews of the Air Force” and the Wilmington Morning News also stated he was stationed in Georgia “with the Army Air Force.” This would seem to be inconsistent with Way’s assignment to an infantry training unit.
At the end of the training cycle, some of Way’s classmates were transferred to Military Police (M.P.) units, including an aviation M.P. unit stationed at Robins Field, Georgia. It is possible that Private Way was earmarked for that assignment and had informed his family prior to his death.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Scott Thompson for providing Lakeside Park postcards.
Bibliography
“Anna M Lightcap Way.” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40184727/anna_m-way
“Body of Soldier Is Taken From Lake.” The Macon News, September 8, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/181230351/
“Camp Wheeler Man Drowns.” The Macon Telegraph, September 7, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/136803104/
Census Record for H. Louis Way. January 9, 1920. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9R6W-S4J
Census Record for Lewis E. [sic] Way. April 2, 1930. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRH9-9JT
Census Record for Louis Way, Jr. April 11, 1940. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MR-MKP
“City Youth Serving With Air Corps Drowns.” Wilmington Morning News, September 10, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/185078695/
Draft Registration Card for Louis H. Way. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. National Archives at Washington, D.C. June 5, 1917. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GB5S-SXH
Draft Registration Card for Louis Henry Way, Jr. February 16, 1942. Draft Registration Cards for Delaware, October 16, 1940 – March 31, 1947. Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMG-XSBJ-4
Enlistment Record for Louis H. Way, Jr. July 22, 1942. World War II Army Enlistment Records. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at College Park, Maryland. https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=32076605&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=2745716
Individual Deceased Personnel File for Louis H. Way, Jr. Individual Deceased Personnel Files, 1939–1953. Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. Courtesy of U.S. Army Human Resources Command.
“Lakeside to Stage Swimming Contests.” The Macon News, April 21, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/185092535/
Lewis, Carl. “Fond memories.” The Telegraph, August 22, 2010. https://www.newspapers.com/article/185092906/
“Louis H. Way.” Wilmington Morning News, April 30, 1951. https://www.newspapers.com/article/185694143/
“Louis H. Way, Jr.” Journal-Every Evening, September 11, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/185078213/
Morning Reports for Company “B,” 11th Infantry Training Battalion, 3rd Infantry Training Regiment. August 1942 – September 1942. U.S. Army Morning Reports, c. 1912–1946. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/partners/st-louis/rg-064/85713825-wwii/85713825_1940-01-thru-1943-07/85713825_1940-01-thru-1943-07_Roll-1994/85713825_1940-01-thru-1943-07_Roll-1994-27.pdf
Morning Reports for Company “B,” 1229th Reception Center. August 1942. U.S. Army Morning Reports, c. 1912–1946. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/partners/st-louis/rg-064/85713825-wwii/85713825_1940-01-thru-1943-07/85713825_1940-01-thru-1943-07_Roll-2837/85713825_1940-01-thru-1943-07_Roll-2837-11.pdf
Way, Anna M. Lightcap. Individual Military Service Record for Louis Henry Way, Jr. October 10, 1946. Record Group 1325-003-053, Record of Delawareans Who Died in World War II. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/21291/rec/1
“Wilmington Soldier Drowns in Georgia.” Journal-Every Evening, September 9, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/136803014/
Last updated on November 26, 2025
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