I attended a family reunion where I came across some newspaper articles about Doc and several letters that he wrote just before his last mission.

Navigator is Cold to Duty in Aleutians
Lieutenant Nunnery Wilson, navigator on a B-24 bomber up in the Aleutians since last June, makes no bones about it. He doesn’t like life in the far north.
“I haven’t enjoyed it a bit,” he declared. “It’s too far from civilization.”
Lieutenant Wilson landed at Will Rogers field Friday and stayed in the city an hour or two on his way to Washington, Okla., to spend a week’s furlough with his parents, Rev., and Mrs. J.W. Wilson.
Wilson talks in monosyllables, a habit you acquire when your conversation is continually drowned out by the roar of airplanes motors.
“Plenty,” he replied, when asked whether he had seen action. “A little anti-aircraft. Dropped some bombs.”
The closest shave was on one occasion when the bombers flew out over the Bering Sea looking for a Japanese convoy, including battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and transports. They found it.
“We dropped bombs. They shot. It came all around us. I could see it. Heard explosions.”
Did they get shot down? Not Wilson’s plane. Did they sink any Jap ships?
“I’m not saying whether we did or we didn’t.”
Chief worry of the navigator around Alaska said Wilson is the dense fog which usually extends all the way from 1,000 to 25,000 feet. He believes American planes are better equipped to meet northern weather conditions than Japanese planes are.
Wilson will return to the Aleutians September 3. It’s the Army Air Corps idea, not his.

There were three letters from Doc to his brother Orville written in November and December 1942 and January 1943. Doc’s nickname for Orville was “Bud.”

Friday Night Nov 27
Dear Bud and Family,
Well I thought I would write to you all although it might not go off for a day or two as it is snowing off and on and the wind blows it along into drifts. The stuff gets as fine as flower and sure is hard to see anything. I don’t get out unless I have to.
This morning, two of the fellows picked me up while I was in bed and carried me out and put me down in the snow. I haven’t flown any this week, but it doesn’t bother me any. But in case any night flying comes along, I am going to refuse.
I started reading a book with about 1200 pages. I read about a half of it and quit.
What have you decided to do for the next year? Mom was afraid you were going to move away. She was certainly worried because you all are so much company to them and help them out a lot.
Boy I sure would like to be there for Christmas. I haven’t been to town since I came back from my visit home.
Well, I hope you all have a good time at Christmas and think of me. Boy I am getting very tired of this.
Answer soon.
Love,
Doc

Friday Afternoon Dec 6
Dear Bud and Family,
Well how are things going with the farmer? Bet you wish you could lay around on your fanny and make over ten bucks a day, especially when you can lay around for over two weeks straight? But, it isn’t very easy especially when you sit around and expect to be called out any minute to go “hunting.” Every time the phone rings, we hold our breath for fear of having to go out.
Since I am farther north than you are, Santa has already been here. Otis send me a Waterman pen and pencil set. Alphus and Minnie Rose sent me four flat 50’s of cigarettes, a shaving kit with lotion, cream, and talcum powder, some candy, a tooth brush, and tooth powder. We haven’t had very regular mail service here in two weeks, but some came by boat and some by plane. Boy, wouldn’t it be funny if Minnie Rose had twins. Say, while we are on the subject, how does my wife feel?
I guess in about a week were will go back to the nearest base for a month. We really had a dinner today. We had turkey and the rest of the stuff. We got fresh vegetables, oranges, apples, grapes, and grapefruit.
We did have some snow and we built us a sled big enough for four or five to ride on. We would slide down a very steep hill by our hut. It would seem as if we would go straight down for a little ways, then we would hit dirt throw out from a fox hole and fly into the air. One time the sled and all aboard went into the air for about 20 feet before it hit the ground. But it stayed right side up and no one got hurt except one sissy of a boy. I guess we would get up to thirty five miles an hour.
I sure would like to get out of here and see my woman. Myrtle said that Velma said she wanted eight or ten kids. Boy oh boy, pass those fried eggs again. Yes, we get fried eggs nearly every morning, but no milk.
Well, it’s been three months since I have been town. Can Orville stay away from town that long?
Well I must close and get my wool coat. So write soon.
Love,
Doc

This last letter was dated January 2, 1942, but the postmark on the envelope was February 11, 1943, almost three weeks after Doc disappeared.

Saturday Night
Jan 2 – 43
Dear Orville and Family,
I guess you thought I had forgotten you all. I just keep fooling around and don’t do any writing much. You see there isn’t much to say and I get very tired of repeating it all except to Velma. Of course my letters to her are a little different. I haven’t done much of any good for a while now, just read, smoke, and fuss.
What are you going to do this year and where will you live? By golly it wouldn’t hurt your dam dirty finger to get a hold of a pencil and write instead of having Ola writing all the time.
Thank you for the Christmas present. It will help a lot to pass the time.
Do you every see Ms. Morrie in Purcell? I haven’t heard from Willis for several months, and I wrote him a letter and chewed his rear out for not writing. I don’t know whether he has been sent some place or not.
Well, I can’t think of much more to say until I get back, which had better not be too many years off. As it is about 6:30, I guess I better get ready to go into town and see what I can find – what a laugh – Probably be several weeks before I see anything like a town.
Answer soon.
Love
Doc

There were three additional newspaper articles that appeared in local papers after Doc disappeared. One featured in his picture with the headline, “Missing in Action.”

Missing in Action
Lt. Nunnery Wilson, son of Rev J.W. Wilson of Washington was reported “missing in action since Jan 18,” according to a message received by his father this week.
Lt. Wilson was a navigator on one of the big army bombers that have been pounding the Japanese bases in the Aleutians. The war department stated that as soon as they learned anything further about Lt. Wilson’s whereabouts they would notify his parents immediately.
He visited friends and relatives here a few months ago while on leave and married a girl from Norman.

A second article also featured Doc’s picture and confirmed Doc’s death.

Flyer is Killed in Aleutians
Official notice that her son Lieut. Nunnery Wilson, 22 years old, navigator for an army bomber in the Aleutians was killed in action January 18 has been received by Mrs. J.W. Wilson, Washington.
Wilson previous was reported missing after two of six bombers sent from his Alaskan base failed to return from a mission. A graduate of Washington High School, Wilson attended the Oklahoma A&M college at Stillwater for 2 ½ years before enlisting in the air corps in May 1941.
After his commissioning a year later, he was sent to the Aleutians but returned on leave last August and married his school days sweetheart, Miss Velma Brahears, before returning to the Aleutians.
Besides his wife, he is survived by his parents, two sisters and four brothers.

A third and final newspaper article provided more details about Doc’s death.

Learn More About Lt. Nunnery Wilson
Rev and Mrs. J.W. Wilson of Washington learned his week a little more of the particulars of the last flight of their son, Lt. Nunnery Wilson on January 18, the day he is officially listed as “missing” by the war department.
Lt. Wilson, the navigator of one of the army’s huge four-motored bombers that had been constantly bombing the Jap bases on Kiska and other points in the Aleutians, had written his parents that the most dangerous element that they had to content with was not the enemy planes or anti-aircraft, but the sudden storms with fog, rain, and snow that made long flights so hazardous.
His mother had written to another son, Odis, who is stationed with the army at Oakland, California and asked him to contact the commanding officer of the air field there to see if he knew anything concerning her son’s fate. Odis learned that on the afternoon of January 18, a force of army bombers were ordered to attack Kiska. About 30 minutes after the bombers left their base, they ran into a dense fog and rain storm and were advised by ground radio to make their way to another base to land. Two bombers failed to arrive at the base and Lt. Wilson was on one of them.