William W. Priest
Sergeant William W. Priest, 491st Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group
Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service Number: 32483398
Unit: 491st Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group, Medium
Entered the service from: New Jersey
Died: May 13, 1944 — Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart
Sergeant William W. Priest, of East Atlantic Avenue, Stratford, NJ, was the son of Samuel and Maria B. Priest. When he was born in 1920 the family was living in Magnolia on Lincoln Avenue. His father worked in sales for a fruit business. By 1930 Samuel Priest had found work as a buyer, and the family had bought a home on Atlantic Avenue in Stratford, NJ. Their next door neighbors were the Oliver family; son George J. Oliver would also be lost in service during World War II.
William Priest was known to friends and family as Bill. He was a fine baseball player. In 1938 he played left field for the Gibbsboro-based Lucas Paintworks ball club in the Lower Camden County League. Two of his brothers, Edward and Thomas, also played ball in that league that year.
William Priest was a member of the class of 1939 of Collingswood (NJ) High School, however, he did not graduate from that school. The turret gunner of a B-25 medium bomber, he entered service on October 23, 1942, and was stationed at Camp Campbell, KY, in March of 1943. He spent a total of nine months in the infantry before transferring to the Army Air Force.
William W. Priest was killed when his plane went down over China on May 13, 1944. Besides his parents, he left a sister, Ada, and four older brothers, Jackson, Charles, Edward, and Thomas.
Source: American Battle Monuments Commission
Harveson Leading Lower Co. Hitters
Camden Courier-Post —
Blackwood Outfielder Has Average of .500; Holland in Runnerup Post
Willis Harveson, outfielder of the Blackwood club, is setting the individual hitting pace in the Lower Camden County League after three weeks of action, according to batting averages released yesterday by league officials.
The averages, which include games played up until May 26, show Harveson sporting a hefty .500 average. Competing in six games, the husky outer gardener has collected 10 safeties out of 20 trips to the plate. He also leads the league in most hits.
Second place goes to Holland, of Braddock, who has compiled a .446 mark. Holland, in five games, has garnered seven safeties out of 15 tries. William Graham, another Braddock player, possesses the same average as Harveson. He is only used as a pinch-hitter, however, making two base hits in four attempts.
Bill Priest and Bill Hyland, a pair of Lucas players, have the highest averages but have only played in a couple games. The former has a .857 average, collecting safeties in six out of seven opportunities in two games, while Hyland, with a .583 average, has only played in three games. Bill has amassed a total of seven hits out of 12 appearances.
[Batting averages table — Player and Team, G, AB, R, H, PC]
W. Priest, Lucas — 2, 7, 3, 6, .857
Hyland, Lucas — 3, 12, 2, 7, .583
Harveson, Blackwood — 6, 20, 6, 10, .500
W. Graham, Braddock — 4, 4, 1, 2, .500
D’Amico, Lucas — 2, 2, 1, 1, .500
Holland, Braddock — 5, 15, 4, 7, .466
Bisbing, Lucas — 3, 13, 7, 6, .461
R. Moore, Blackwood — 6, 16, 5, 7, .437
Rowand, Lucas — 5, 16, 4, 7, .437
Croft, Braddock — 8, 19, 6, 8, .421
T. Priest, Magnolia — 4, 12, 0, 5, .417
Deacon, Blackwood — 6, 17, 6, 7, .412
Wells, Braddock — 8, 22, 5, 9, .409
Mendos, B. Heights — 5, 15, 2, 6, .400
Thorn, Blackwood — 3, 5, 1, 2, .400
Phillips, Woodlynne — 4, 5, 1, 2, .400
Davis, Woodlynne — 8, 23, 8, 9, .391
E. Conover, Blackwood — 5, 13, 4, 5, .384
Myers, Magnolia — 5, 13, 1, 5, .384
E. Priest, Lucas — 4, 13, 2, 5, .384
Malsberger, Woodlynne — 3, 8, 3, 3, .375
Strock, Braddock — 4, 8, 0, 3, .375
H. Olt, Berlin Heights — 6, 19, 7, 7, .368
Garvey, Braddock — 7, 17, 3, 6, .353
Raws, Magnolia — 7, 21, 4, 7, .333
A. Brimfield, Braddock — 8, 24, 5, 8, .333
P. Conover, Blackwood — 5, 18, 5, 6, .333
Ball, Magnolia — 3, 9, 2, 3, .333
Brennan, Woodlynne — 3, 9, 2, 3, .333
Russell, Lucas — 2, 6, 1, 2, .333
Spencer, Blackwood — 1, 3, 1, 1, .333
T. Morad, B. Heights — 8, 25, 6, 8, .320
F. Conover, Blackwood — 6, 16, 5, 5, .317
John Reid, Magnolia — 7, 19, 3, 6, .316
D. Brimfield, Braddock — 8, 30, 3, 9, .300
Marano, Berlin Heights — 8, 30, 5, 9, .300
Krown, Woodlynne — 8, 20, 6, 6, .300
Cooper Sparkles in Lucas Victory
Camden Courier-Post —
Holds Magnolia to Two Hits in 8-0 Win; Woodlynne Defeats Berlin, 9-4
LOWER CAMDEN COUNTY LEAGUE
| W. | L. | P.C. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braddock | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Berlin Heights | 8 | 6 | .571 |
| Blackwood | 6 | 5 | .545 |
| Lucas | 6 | 6 | .500 |
| Woodlynne | 5 | 8 | .385 |
| Magnolia | 4 | 10 | .286 |
With Al Cooper twirling in brilliant fashion, the Lucas “Paintmakers” scored their sixth Lower Camden County League victory last night when they handed the last-position Magnolia clubbers an 8 to 0 spanking, at Gibbsboro.
Woodlynne was victorious in another skirmish, defeating Berlin Heights by 9 to 4, at Woodlynne.
Cooper limited Magnolia to a pair of hits and set down six on strikes. He never was in difficulty and the Lucas tossers clinched the decision as early as the first inning by shoving over three runs.
Pasce went the route on the tee for Magnolia and was peppered for 13 bingles, Willard Bisbing collecting three to lead the attack for the “Paintmakers.”
MAGNOLIA
| ab | r | h | o | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turner, 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Addison, c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Dold, cf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| TPriest, cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| JReed, ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Weisser, 1b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Miller, lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Phillips, rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pasce, p | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Adams, c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 30 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 9 |
LUCAS
| ab | r | h | o | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hal’way, 2b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| A’delotte, ss | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Bisbing, cf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Hyland, 1b | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 0 |
| Rowand, 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| WPriest, lf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Hin’man, rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bailey, c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Cooper, p | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| JMiller, rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Perkins, lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 34 | 8 | 13 | 27 | 13 |
| Magnolia | 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 |
| Lucas | 3 0 1 1 0 1 2 0 x — 8 |
Errors — Turner, Dold, Perkins. Two base hits — Hyland, W. Priest, Cooper, Bisbing. Struck out — By Cooper 6, Pasce 5. Umpires — Shiffy and Maxwell.