Earl J. Shane entered the U.S. Army Air Corps at the age of 18. After basic training, he was assigned to an important ground force whose mission it was to protect harbors and beaches, supply posts and airfields, i.e., the 743rd Anti Aircraft Gun Battalion. After reorganization in 1944, the battalion was relocated from New Guinea to the southwest part of the Philipines near Luzon where it became part of the 14th Anti Aircraft Command. It was there, in 1945 after basic training, that Pvt. Shane joined the battalion, remaining with them his whole service period. After discharge in 1946, he settled in El Paso, Texas, where Mr. Shane worked in reservations for the Santa Fe railway system. A few years later, he relocated to San Francisco, California, where he continued working for Santa Fe as a reservation specialist until his untimely death in 1985. Mr. Shane never married. Discharge Date: 1946.