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<em>In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty;</em></div>
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<em>He gave all that mortality can give.</em></div>
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In granting permission to carve in stone these immortal words taken from his eloquent last speech at West Point in May 1962, General Douglas MacArthur said, “I would be honored to have any words I have uttered as the epitaph on this hero’s grave. With every devoted death such as his, I think we all die a little.”</div>
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Bill, the son of an Army family, was bom in Washington, D.C., on 26 June 1937. Like other "Army brats’’ he lived in many different places: Washington, Carlisle Barracks, Fort Benning, West Point, London, Vienna, San Francisco, and Leavenworth. From his earliest childhood, Bill had a keen sense of proportions. His building blocks were never haphazardly stacked but were as meticulously arranged as if with the most accurate measure. He played hard, was especially agile and coordinated, was sure of his objectives, and was strongly independent. While still a junior in high school, he won, in competition, his first appointment to West Point. However, he wisely turned down this appointment in order to finish high school from which he graduated in midyear as salutatorian. He received an appointment from his father’s district in Georgia the following June.</div>
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As a cadet, his classmates remembered him as a close, good, considerate, loyal, respected friend, and for his vital sense of humor. Although quite competent in academics, he seldom missed an opportunity to enjoy life. One classmate observed, “His death in combat left a gap in the ranks which is impossible to fill.’’</div>
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Bill determined early to stand on his own two feet. One of his cadet corporals did not even know Bill’s father was a senior officer. At the beginning of graduation leave he endured alone, to avoid causing his parents concern, an emergency operation and recovery from a ruptured appendix, yet he was only 50 miles from home.</div>
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Several months later he completed his basic infantry course, Ranger training, and won a parachutist badge. His “Ranger buddy” told of several instances when Bill’s agility proved especially useful. In one case Bill helped him, a much larger man, over a difficult obstacle. In another case, Bill mounted a horizontal rope precariously suspended 40 feet in the air. To the amusement—and inspiration—of all observers, he reported his readiness to drop while hanging by one hand and saluting with the other.</div>
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Bill’s engaging personality and dedication earned him much respect and many friends. The vivid expressions of his friends speak a moving eulogy: “Bill was my best friend, and I doubt if I’ll ever find a more honest and sincere friend”; “The Army has lost a soldier, and I have lost a very special friend. None will be the same”; “He was a wonderful person, different from others in that he had a depth of character and a wonderful, open mind”; “One of the finest people I have ever known, and he had such intense determination to make good. He showed the same type of loyalty to his friends and to the things in which he believed”; “I feel especially fortunate to have known him...He was a good officer and a wonderful friend”; “He was indeed a fine young man with a wonderful sense of humor, and he was integrity itself’; “I gained an admiration and respect for the way Bill tackled and triumphed over problems. Bill had the necessary enthusiasm, experience, and ability that it takes to do much good for the world”; “Bill’s unselfishness and ever-present willingness to help a man in trouble will always stand out in my mind. He repeatedly offered to help me even to the point of giving up his vacations to help me.”</div>
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His courtly manner and compassion were revealed on an occasion when he made a courteous gesture to a young girl whose date for the big high school dance became suddenly ill. Bill called her formally and offered to escort her. This girl’s family remembers Bill “not only as a soldier who died for his country, but also as a fine gentleman who was a credit to his family."</div>
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Bill’s first assignment was with the 5th Cavalry in Korea. A friend he stopped by to see en route overseas wrote, “I could not help but feel the spirit of enthusiasm he had for the Army and his impending first assignment.” Several of the men in his first unit wrote their impressions quite lucidly. “He was never a braggart, but was always polite and respectful to all, regardless of work. He was liked by all who knew him...He was an excellent soldier and very understandable.”</div>
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Bill’s pride in the Army and his leadership ability served him well. As one young soldier explained, “He took a 17-year-old private whose attitude was complete indifference, counseled this young trooper, finally straightened him out and made a soldier out of him...I, that soldier, am now Sergeant E-5. He was not just an 8-hour-a-day soldier; he was one around the clock. I only hope I can be half the soldier he was."</div>
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Bill’s dedication and devotion to duty, as demonstrated in his first command, were observed by his platoon sergeant who wrote: “His fierce devotion to duty and his tremendous talent for taking care of small details, as well as large ones, endeared him to his men. We knew him as an officer who ‘always had time.’ Even when he didn’t have time, he took time. We always got the impression that we were second in importance only to the mission to be accomplished. This is what enlisted men look for in officers, and this is also what causes men to follow such a leader with an unquestioning attitude...Lieutenant Train had that certain something that was just a little bit better than the next young officer. He was always willing to go that ‘extra step.’...He earned the respect of the men he led.”</div>
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A fellow officer in Korea wrote, “He learned to speak the language better than any American there—to make many acquaintances among the Koreans. He was an excellent exponent of the President’s People-to-People Program. When he visited a friend’s regimental mess he amazed the waiters by speaking perfect Korean to them...Bill not only spoke Korean, but was learning to read and write the stuff, too."</div>
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One company commander, to whom Bill had said that he had not been tough enough on him, wrote: "His comment was not a criticism of me, but rather an indication of his own almost ascetic devotion to duty...I feel certain that at the moment of his death, Bill was driving hard just as he had always done...He was a soldier in the finest meaning of the word.”</div>
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After his tour in Korea, Bill served for about a year with the Old Guard (3d Infantry) at Fort Myer, Virginia. He had several assignments there, and, as elsewhere, his contemporaries observed these qualities in him: consideration for his friends, a preoccupation with the military, and an easy sense of humor. The job he had the longest was that of battle group public information officer, and "it was generally agreed that Bill did the best job there that had been done in several years.” While in this capacity, he participated in a pageant in El Paso, where he again made a deep impression, for, as one who met him only casually wrote, “How fortunate we are in having Lieutenant Train come into our lives even for just a short span of time.”</div>
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A soldier who served under him at Fort Myer noted, “He was a fine officer who distinguished himself among his men and fellow officers. He was a possessor of many fine qualities, two of which were sensitivity and understanding.”</div>
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Bill’s burning desire to serve his country led him to volunteer for duty in Vietnam. Friends who saw him just before his departure noted, “He wanted to go and thought it was the thing for him to do.” “He was full of enthusiasm and such about going.... His attitude was first-rate.”</div>
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An officer who served with him at Fort Myer and in Vietnam said, “He helped me as only a friend would on many occasions." Another noted that in Vietnam Bill was happy in his work. A letter from a friend who saw Bill a day or two before he was killed, wrote, “He is in the best of health, raring to go, and taking the greatest possible interest in his work. He is stationed near one of the most important strategic hamlets, which may well be a pilot model elsewhere, so it is very much of a key job and area.” Subsequently, this same friend wrote, “The time he was here has left a mark and a stirring example to follow."</div>
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The Commandant, Special Warfare School, was deeply impressed by Bill’s prescient answers to a questionnaire and wrote: "It is from reports such as Bill’s that we have improved the capabilities of the U.S. advisors and thereby the effectiveness of the South Vietnamese army in this war for freedom.”</div>
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Bill’s interest in children led him to write the Caterpillar Girls’ Club in York, Pennsylvania, after seeing an orphan that that club was sponsoring. He gave the members their first report on their foster child. Bill’s mature and penetrating observations led the club to believe that he was an older person. They were amazed when they learned of his youth. As an expression of admiration and sympathy, his correspondence with them was bound, titled "Our Lieutenant,” and presented to Bill’s family.</div>
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Official reports indicate that the Vietnamese army convoy which Bill was accompanying out of Ben Cat was ambushed by 400 to 600 Viet Cong (Communists) about half of whom were hard-core regulars. The small detachment of 40 which he accompanied had no chance against these odds. Witnesses to the action reported that although wounded in the initial mine blasts and fusillade, Bill was able to fire his carbine, expend his ammunition, and later withdraw to cover. He was found about 50 yards from the road, with several wounds and shot through the chest. The entire engagement lasted only a relatively few minutes. A fellow officer in Vietnam wrote of Bill’s tragic death, "He was doing the job in which he believed...It is such a loss to the Army.”</div>
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The non-commissioned officers serving with Bill “spoke of him in awe—for his youth as well as his gentle yet determined manner.” He was greatly appreciated by the Vietnamese whom he was advising. They recalled with admiration: "Lieutenant Train could speak French and Vietnamese.” He played basketball against the local villagers several times and this, too, added to his admirable reputation. He was much loved by the Vietnamese and greatly respected by all. A senior officer wrote, "Bill was one of the heroes of this crazy war. He was admired and respected by all with whom he came in contact. He was a symbol of strength.”</div>
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This brief tribute has been reconstructed from the words of Bill's friends, but his gallantry and courage were noted by many others who did not know him. Their sentiments have offered solace to his parents and to his brother and sister in this dire hour. “His example points the way to others, that one has to show the way personally—and with vigor.”</div>
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“The loss to our nation of such dedicated professionals in the flower of their youth is one which cannot be measured. No country can ever have enough such men.”</div>
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“There are those among us who realize the full measure of devotion he has given, and we will cherish the freedom that he and the ones before have insured."</div>
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“Bill is the symbol of what West Point and the Army stand for.”</div>
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"Bill’s service and life were in the highest role man can perform, the defense and preservation of dignity and freedom of his fellow man.”</div>
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As Lincoln said, "to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”</div>
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"There are so many of us who are grateful that American families can still turn out dedicated men like Bill despite the widespread cynicism. So long as this spirit lives, the Republic has nothing to fear."</div>
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“Surely no such son as Bill is ever lost.” Bill was the sixth American and the first West Pointer to be killed in Vietnam. In his memory, the compound at Bien Hoa has been named for him. A barracks under construction at Fort Myer, Virginia, will be named in his honor.</div>
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Over 1,000 letters were received from our friends and from Bill’s friends and admirers. From their thoughtful comments we have been able to present the stature of our son when he was on his own. We, Bill’s parents, are grateful for the wonderful years we did have him.</div>
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He has out-soared the shadow of our night.</div>
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<em>—His parents</em></div>
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