William Edward Sylvester was born on December 3, 1919, in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. He was the son of William Lawrence Sylvester Jr. and Mabel Mary Dougherty Sylvester. William served in the 565th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant during World War II. He also served as a Radio Operator of the B-24D-165-CO #4272866 or also known as ''Jackass Male''.

On April 1, 1944, his plane was assigned to bomb Ludwigshafen, Germany, but had a secondary mission to photograph the German V1 missile site at Siracourt, France. During this mission, the aircraft was struck by German anti-aircraft fire and crashed. Of the 11 crew members, only three survived, TSgt Sylvester was one of those instantly killed. TSgt Sylvester is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France. He was awarded the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.