Olney Flier Lost In Action

(Olney staff) - Second Lieutenant Arthur Reynolds Shultz, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur E. Shultz of Olney, is reported to be the first Richland County casualty of World War II.

A telegram received here yesterday, from the War Department said that Lieutenant Shultz of the U.S. Army Corps. had been missing in the Far Eastern war theatre since May 27,1942.

Lieutenant Shultz was graduated from Olney high school in 1934 and from Northwestern University in 1938. He then entered business with his father in the Shultz Seed Co. here. In May 1941 he was accepted for training as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. and took his training at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, OK, Randolph Field, Texas and Ellington Field, LA.

Last December he was assigned to a fighter plane squadron and was sent to West Palm Beach, Fla., from there he went to San Francisco and on to Australia.

His parents and a sister, Mrs. Albert Kurtz, Jr. live here.

Herald & Review (Decatur, IL) – Thursday, June 18, 1942

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Shultz have received word from the War Department that their son, Lieutenant Arthur Reynolds Shultz, 29, is now officially considered killed in action. Second Lieutenant Arthur R. Shultz was declared dead July 1, 1944 with burial in Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Philipines.  He had been stationed at Fort William McKinley in the Philipines.

According to the official notification, Lieutenant Shultz was shot down over Wau, New Guinea, on May 26, 1942, and has been missing since.  Due to the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, the War Department delayed final disposition of his case for two years.

Lieut. Shultz was in the 35^th Pursuit Squadron 8^th Pursuit Group.  He received a Purple Heart Medal and Air Medal.

Published in Olney Advocate (IL) – Thursday noon, July 20, 1944