William James Long was the foster son of Samuel and Caroline N. Long, of Sharon, Pennsylvania. He served in the 50 (R.A.F.) Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. He was Killed in Action on July 19, 1944, when his Avro Lancaster DV312, which took off at 22h58 at RAF Skellingthorpe, England, for a mission to attack the marshaling yards at Revigny-sur-Ornain, France, was shot down by a night fighter at 02:05 am. The aircraft crashed at Robert-Magny, France, killing six crew members. Only the bombardier survived.