William Powell Boley was born on July 17, 1921 in Lake Toxaway, Transylvania County, North Carolina. He was the son of Ernest D. Boley and Arkie McCall Boley. William served as a Sergeant and Radio Operator on C-46A #43-46983, 1337th Army Air Force Base Unit, U.S. Army Air Force that crashed in India or China during WW II. He was declared "Missing in Action" on April 6, 1945 and is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph located in Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery, Balsam Grove, Transylvania County, North Carolina, USA.
Boley 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 1945-02-06.