[1] His Ph.D. thesis The production of volatile acids by the fermentation of cellulose at high temperatures was supervised by Edwin Broun Fred.
[3] During WW II, on a leave of absence from UWM, Sarles served with the rank of Commander in the United States Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1945.
For his work as executive officer and technical consultant assigned to the Office of the Special Consultant to the Secretary of War, he was honored in 1945 with the Legion of Merit of the United States.
[3] He was elected in 1933 a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
[8] After he died, UWM's department of microbiology established a William Bowen Sarles Scholarship.