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LEWISTOWN -- Prior to World War II, the majority of U.S. troops' deaths were the result of non-battle-related causes. The U.S. Army sustained 300,445 deaths during the second World War. Of this total, 75,280 were the result of non-battle accidents and diseases. PVT William R. Long of Mifflin County died in the line of duty from non-battle-related causes.
Born in Tobie, Ohio on May 21 or 25, 1911, William Russell Long was the surviving son of Pennsylvania natives Palmer and Mary Pauline Cubbison Long. His maternal grandparents were English immigrants. Long's brother, Oscar, died from tuberculosis at the age of nine on April 18, 1925. Long's father supported the household as a farm hand until his death on Jan. 13, 1929. His mother was a homemaker.
Long's upbringing occurred in the Mifflin County communities of Reedsville, Oliver Township and Lewistown. He attended Lewistown schools through at least seventh grade. By 1930, Long was on his own and working as a household servant for a department store advertising manager in Lewistown. Later, he moved in with a Reedsville family and became a farm hand.
Long registered for the draft on Oct. 16, 1940 in Reedsville. He left his farm hand job and enlisted in the Army on Nov. 30, 1942 in Altoona. He entered active duty at the Indiantown Gap Military Reservation where he was assigned to the 308th Medical Detachment. Long served with the rank of private.
The 308th Medical Detachments directly served infantry regiments and battalions. Responsibilities included establishing battalion aid stations behind front lines, administering triage, controlling hemorrhages and stabilizing the wounded for evacuation. The 308th Medical Battalion trained at Indiantown Gap in 1942 to prepare for deployment to the European Theater of Operations. The battalion was attached to the 83rd Infantry Division and saw heavy action during the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. It is unknown whether Long was in the 308th Medical Battalion or in another 308th Medical Detachment.
Long did not survive to deploy with the 308th. After less than three months of training, he was admitted to Halloran General Hospital, a Staten Island Army hospital, with a diseased jaw that apparently pre-existed his enlistment. Further examination resulted in a diagnosis of lymphosarcoma, today known as Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Long endured months of radiation therapy and was transferred to the Army's Lawson General Hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.
Long died in the line of duty from cancer at Lawson General Hospital on June 12, 1943. His remains were returned to Mifflin County and were laid to rest at Lind Memorial Cemetery in Lewistown.
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Stories Behind the Stars memorials are accessible for free on the internet and via smart phone app at gravesites and cenotaphs. The non-profit organization is dedicated to honoring all 421,000 fallen Americans from World War II, including 31,000 from Pennsylvania. To volunteer or for more information, contact Kathy Harmon at kharmon@storiesbehindthestars.org or visit www.storiesbehindthestars.org.