James "Billy" W. Noland was born on August 28, 1920 in Virginia. He was the son of James William Noland and Katherine Chilton Gray Noland. He served in the 378th Fighter Squadron, 362nd Fighter Group as a Second Lieutenant during World War II. On June 28, 1945, 2Lt. Noland of the 378th crashed in extremely bad weather near Zandt, Germany, while on a flight ferrying the group's P-47s to the depot in Nuremberg. Noland lost sight of his flight, and while circling Zandt, perhaps to establish his location, disappeared into the clouds, only to re-emerge in a nose-dive. Witnesses working in the fields saw smoke and then fire coming from the Thunderbolt's engine. Noland pulled up, but the left wing touched a treetop; Noland seemed to recover, then the aircraft descended into a forest and crashed, killing the pilot. 2Lt Noland is now buried in the Lorraine American Cemetery, Saint-Avold, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, Thunderbolts Triumphant, The 362nd Fighter Group vs Germany's Wehrmacht