William King Prior was born on December 2, 1905, in Marshall, Missouri, the second son of Jerome and Agnes Prior. He attended Sion Academy in Marshall from 1913-1920, Marshall High School in Marshall from 1920-1924, Missouri Valley College in Marshall from 1924-1926, and the University of Missouri in Columbia from 1926-1928. On October 2, 1942, Prior enlisted in the Enlisted Reserve Corps at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He began Signal Corps School in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 23, 1942. He married Helen Vogel (born November 22, 1911), the daughter of Felix and Theresa Vogel (nee Lock), on December 25, 1942. On February 4, 1944, Prior was sent to Camp Reynolds in Greenville, Pennsylvania. On August 23, 1943, Prior was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where he stayed until September 1, 1943, when he was transferred to Camp Kohler in Sacramento, California. On March 4, 1944, Prior was relocated again to New Rochelle, New York, at Fort Slocum. On March 13, Prior and his company began their journey to Europe aboard the Acquatina, the sister ship of the Luisitania. On March 22, the ship made port in Grennock, Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde. The company then took a train into England. On March 27, 1944, Prior experienced his first air raid. On April 11, Prior and his company were sent to Qulten Park in Cheshire, England, where he was a cadre in HQ Co. of the 86th Replacement Battalion. While stationed in Cheshire, Prior visited several cities in England, including Bath and Bristol and the country of Wales, all of which he described in his letters. On May 9, 1944, Prior’s battalion was moved to Yoevil, England. On June 7, 1944, the day after the D-Day Invasion, Prior’s battalion boarded the Arthur Sewall set for Normandy Beach in France. On June 9, 1944, Prior was on guard duty aboard the ship and he observed part of the fighting on the beach. On July 1, the battalion was moved to Catigny L. Epinay and then on July 12 to St. Clair Sur L: Elle. After his time in France, Prior was sent to Holland where he spent his nights at the home of a Dutch family. From Holland, Prior was sent to Germany on December 25, 1944. He was sent back to France on July 12, 1945. Although Prior was told that he was to be sent home in December 1945, the orders changed and he was to be sent to the Pacific theater of the war. The letters end in September 1945, and there are no letters from the Pacific. After the war, Prior served as assistant superintendent for the Marshall State School and Hospital Complex. Prior died in September 1984.