William W. Yocum was born in 1922 to William D. and Hannah M. Yocum. The family lived on Boyertown Road in East Coventry Township, south of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.  His Father was listed as a farmer.

William was educated in the area, graduating from North Coventry High School in 1939.  The High School was located on Hanover Street (Rt. 663), besides what is today the North Coventry Municipal Building.  (The former High School building is now part of the West Mont Christian Academy.)

William became a member of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church where he played in the church orchestra, and was a soloist for the Boyertown Guards.  His parents passed away, and he made his home with his grandmother Anna Eagle, who lived in Hanover Heights in Pottstown

William enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943.  He received training at several bases, including Dale Mabry Field, Tallahassee, Florida.  He received his wings as a pilot and commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant in Moultries, Georgia.

He married Miss Alice Rhoads of Halfway House in Sarasota, Florida, on September 18, 1943.

William was sent overseas in November, 1943 to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and flew from bases in Italy.

Second Lieutenant William W. Yocum was Killed In Action on February 16, 1944.