C/103118 Rifleman John Wallace Atchison was born in Cornwall, Ontario, on 16 July 1919, the son of Robert Atchison and Eva, of Cornwall, Ontario. He had four brothers, one of which also served overseas.

He married Anita Atchison, of Cornwall on 14 April 1940 and they had one son named Terrell Allan.  Atchison had completed two years of high school and worked as a grocery clerk.

With no previous militia experience, he enlisted with the active Canadian Army on 18 March 1943 in Ottawa, Ontario. After training in Canada and England he was transferred as a reinforcement to The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada on 8 October 1943.

Atchison was killed in action on 6 June 1944 and is buried in Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian Cemetery.