William J. Shallcross, known to friends as Billy, William Shallcross attended Collingswood High School, in Collingswood NJ. Having a background in radio from his father, he qualified for flight duty, and was inducted into the Army Air Force on February 2, 1942, and trained as a radio operator at Miami Florida, Scott Field IL, the Philco Radio School in Philadelphia PA and Great Bend KS before shipping out with his crew in the B-29 Superfortress bomber, to India by way of North Africa. Staff Sergeant Shallcross and his crew participated in the first B-29 raid against Japan on June 15, 1944 when 47 B-29s of the 58th Bombardment Wing attacked the steel works at Yawata. This raid originated in India, with a refueling stop in China. It involved long hours in the air and flying over the Himalayan Mountains.

William died on August 2, 1944 and is now buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA in a common grave with his crew. He also has a cenotaph located in Greenwood Cemetery, Tuckerton, Ocean County, New Jersey. He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com
Photo: www.dvrbs.com