2nd Lt. William M. “Wild Bill” Wheeler Way (Queens)
Present name:None
Location:At the southeast corner of Tuskegee Airmen Way and 153rd Street
Honoree: William M. Wheeler (1923-2011) volunteered as a United States Army Air Corps pilot and was inducted in March 1943. He was transferred to the Tuskegee Institute and earned his wings as a fighter pilot in March 1944 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 302nd Fighter Squadron in Ramitelli, Italy and carried out bomber escort missions over Europe. His combat career was cut short on his sixth mission when a respiratory ailment caused him to black out at 36,000 feet. Luckily, he regained consciousness at 8,000 feet. He was honorably discharged in 1945. He, along with the rest of the Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Medal of Honor presented by then-President George W. Bush (Wills) [This is one of 18 namings along Tuskegee Airmen Way honoring outstanding units and individuals in African-American military history.]
LL:2014/34

Benjamin Wheeler Place (Queens)
Present name:None
Location:At the intersection of 41st Street and Queens Boulevard
Honoree: Benjamin Wheeler lived in Sunnyside, Queens for the first year of his life before moving to Connecticut. He was just six years old when he was killed in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
LL:2013/50