About



World War II (1939-1945)

Alexander Walter Shoutis Jr. was born in Schenectady, New York, on January 22, 1923. By 1930, he was living in Saratoga County, New York, with his family and attended the local schools, including Galway High School. After 1940, he returned to the city of Schenectady to work for General Electric.

On December 26, 1941, Alexander enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He was a first lieutenant serving with the 372nd Bomber Squadron, 307th Bomber Group, Heavy. On April 27, 1944, Alexander and all of his crew were killed during a bombing run on Dublon Island, Chuuk; after being attacked by night fighters, the aircraft exploded. He flew 30 combat missions over the South Pacific before his death, and his valour earned him the Air Medal and the Three Leaf Cluster. He is remembered at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines. 

Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave, Ancestry


 

"Keep a little fire burning; however small, however hidden."

~Cormac McCarthy

 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

 

For the Fallen

Laurence Binyon