Bill was a three-sport athlete at HHS playing football, basketball and baseball. He enjoyed an outstanding championship career. In basketball he played on the '36 and '37 State Championship teams, starting both years! In '36 he earned 2nd team All State and in '37 he was captain of the team and named 1st team All State.

He played football for the Streaks, but sadly there is little information available about individual performances of the day. His team went 6-1-1 in 1935. Bill was an accomplished musician with the trumpet and violin and actually learned to fly airplanes while in high school.

Bill's best sport may have been baseball as it led to post graduate success. He played with the Harrisonburg Turks. In 1941 he posted a .291 batting avg. and had 5 home runs. He renewed to play in '42 but was called to duty for America in World War II.

His military career was full of honor and is worthy of a more detailed story here.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in '41, Bill enlisted in the Army Air Force. Assigned to the 55* Fighter Squadron of the 338 fighter group, he piloted the famous P-38 in support of our forces in Germany. Flying an escort mission in Northern Germany Bill and other pilots came under attack by Luftwaffe as they flew alongside U.S. Bombers. Lt. Shank was last seen coming out of a dive attempting to rejoin his compatriots. He and 5 other pilots perished that day and were not recovered.

In '45 when allies entered Berlin, records were found by Bill's brother of a P-38 crash near Osteressen, Germany. Searches then and again in '48 and '08 turned up no remains to be unidentified. Then, in 2016 a recovery team turned up osseous material that led to sophisticated DNA identification techniques in 2018 positively identifying Lt. Shanks remains.

After 75 years, Lt. Bill Shank returned to Harrisonburg under Military escort and honor. Attending the funeral were family and friends and members of the 338th Fighter Squadron. A flyover gave a final note to his honorable service. After 27,270 days away from home, Bill Shank was reunited and interred beside his parents.

Lt. Bill Shank was one of 20 former Blue Streak graduates who perished during World War Il while serving their country.