Edgar Milton Shallcross Jr. was born on December 30, 1922, in Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio. He was first married to Betty Ann Robertson Shallcross until her passing in 1986, and later married Sue J. Culbertson Shallcross. He served in the 32nd Bomber Squadron, 301st Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Staff Sergeant and Waist Gunner of B‑17F‑30‑DL #42‑3157 nicknamed “Laura” during World War II.

On July 26, 1944, the aircraft was shot down during a bombing mission targeting a factory in Wiener-Neudorf, Austria. Due to heavy cloud cover, the mission became disorganized, and although a recall order was issued, the crew of "Laura" did not receive it. The bomber formation was then attacked by approximately 50 German fighters. As the trailing aircraft, "Laura" was singled out and sustained heavy damage, eventually entering a steep dive and exploding in mid-air. Of the ten crew members on board, five were killed, while the remaining five survived by parachuting out and were subsequently taken as prisoners of war.

SSgt Shallcross was captured and held as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft IV in Gross-Tychow in Pomerania, Prussia until the war’s end. He retired as general manager of the Alling and Cory Company and was active in community and veterans’ organizations, including the First United Methodist Church of Bellaire, American Legion Post 52, DAV Post 117, and the American Ex-Prisoner of War Barbed Wire Chapter 1. He also served as a Bellaire city councilman.

Shallcross died on September 8, 2009, and is now buried in the Davis Cemetery, Bellaire, Belmont County, Ohio, USA.

Source of information: b17flyingfortress.de, www.32ndbombsquadron.org, www.timesleaderonline.com