William F. Shanahan was born in 1924 in New York. He resided in New York County, New York prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on December 3, 1942 in New York City, New York. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in a machine shop and also as Single, without dependents. William served as a Staff Sergeant and Radio Operator / Gunner on B-24J #42-109966, 373rd Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24J #42-109966 took off on a night mission from Kweilin, China over the the Yangtze River Valley. After takeoff they were not heard from or seen again. The entire crew was lost on June 18, 1944. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until February 27, 1946. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

Staff Sergeant Shanahan 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 but death date is inscribed as 1944-06-26.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov