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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Thomas Skey

Prior to becoming an Air and Space Friend, Bill had already been a Visitor Services volunteer for over five years with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center. He always has been fascinated with aviation and, as a teenager, Bill loved building and flying model airplanes. Bill delighted in watching aircraft arrivals and departures with his brother, Jim from near the runway ends at the Philadelphia International Airport, not far from where he was raised.

In his early twenties, Bill enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and served from March 21, 1962 until March 20, 1966 as an enlisted man. He attended an Electronic Pool School at Amarillo AFB, Texas with emphasis towards missile guidance for the Atlas and Titan 1. Two weeks before graduating from the thirty-two week course, the class was informed that particular field was "saturated" and we were no longer needed. The class was reassigned to Lackland AFB, Texas, to attend another lengthily course on Electronic Cryptographic Teletype Equipment Maintenance. After graduation the class was informed that we had no choice but to go overseas.

Bill was assigned to the 1958th Communications Squadron at Andersen AFB, Guam, MI. While there, he received kudos for designing and building a relay tester that contributed to keeping the electronic equipment on line when parts were hard to get. Bill also received a commendation from Emanuel F. Guerrero, Governor of Guam, for helping to gather and decorate the local high school with jungle foliage in advance of the annual Liberation Day Queen crowning ceremony.

After eighteen months, Bill was reassigned to the 865th Radar Squadron (SAGE) at Las Vegas AFS (Angels Peak), Nevada. In addition to his assigned cryptographic maintenance duties, he also served as the squadron courier making daily eighty mile round trips down the mountain to Nellis AFB and Las Vegas and back. He also made priority "runs" to Phoenix, Arizona and Tonopah, Nevada, in support of the radar operations. While there, Bill received the honor of the Airman of the Month award, partly in recognition for repairing the secure electronic door combination lock to the operations building.

Fifteen months later, Bill joined the civilian world and became employed with the American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) Corporation. It was only a few months before Bill fell in love and married his wife, Eleanor Robinson, a year later. They have three children, Laura Ann, Thomas William, and Robert Joseph. Bill worked at AT&T in various titles for almost thirty-six years until his retirement in 2001.

A trip to Tucson, Arizona where he visited Orbital Science's Satellite and Rocket factories, AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB, Pima Air Museum, Titan Missile Museum Silo, and the Sonora Desert Museum was a real treat. In addition to Udvar-Hazy, he volunteers at his church, does much of his home remodeling, and loves visiting with his children, traveling, playing golf, and visiting air shows. Bill intends to continue his volunteer activities and remain active as long as he is able.