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Bill was a righteous brother. He was far and away one of the calmest men that I ever met. Supervising our evasion team at SERE-C with Dave Miller, John "Ug" and Pet Crittenden gave him an early start on grey hair. As my service days were ending he was an understanding boss and staunch advocate, getting me time to look at pre-med schools. He penned an exquisite letter of recommendation for my medical school application packet, and I got interviewed and offers of admission my first year.
We talked by phone over the years and when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer spoke about some of the experimental protocols he was enrolled in as a patient. They kept him alive longer than normal, but we all know Bill was anything but normal. When last we talked he had developed cauda equina syndrome (a neurological disorder of the lower spinal cord) from the cancer. I had planned to fly out to NC in May to relive the good old days at SERE-C.
Bill got an early green light and left me standing on the ramp. We'll meet him again at that far-side rally point...still smiling.
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