Remembering George W. Wilson, USS Liberty Survivor

George Woodrow Wilson Jr., 78, formerly of St. Joseph, died on April 14, 2022, in Overland Park, Kan.

Born in New Orleans, George was raised on the south side of Chicago where he was one of the first students to integrate Mt. Carmel High School. During the time at Northern Illinois University, he majored in business; however, he realized that business was not his calling. He would go on to get a degree in anthropology at Wichita State University and his masters at the University of Massachusetts.

His formal education was interrupted when he was called to active duty by the U.S. Navy Reserves. He was a crew member of the ill-fated USS Liberty, which was attacked by Israeli aircraft during the Six Day War in 1967; George throughout his life lamented at the loss of lives. He himself was wounded and received a Purple Heart.