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The 1955 <em>Howitzer </em>describes Bill Wilcox as “always busily engaged either in athletics or extra curricular activities. Bill could usually be found on the lacrosse field or behind a smoking typewriter surrounded by poopsheets. Militarily inclined, he readily accepted any task with a smile and had a reputation for producing results. How can he fail with such a virtue?”</div>
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For whomever composed the above description and for everyone who knew him—Bill Wilcox did not fail.</div>
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The oldest of four sons, Bill was born 11 December 1930 in Troy, New York, to Foster and Lois Wilcox. Bill graduated from Albany Academy (High School), Albany, New York, in 1948. He attended Union College in New York 1948-1950 and was appointed to West Point in 1951 as the son of a deceased veteran.</div>
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Bill truly loved West Point. The discipline and rigors of plebe life were easy for Bill and he quickly established himself as an outstanding plebe. He was a good athlete and excelled in lacrosse and wrestling. Always active and a natural leader he attained the rank of Cadet Captain and was a Regimental Commander, He was also Secretary of Fomm, Secretary of the German Club, and Chairman of the Special Programs Committee. He cherished his four years at the Academy.</div>
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Bill will be most remembered by his friends for his enthusiasm for life, his pursuit of excellence and his natural good humor. Bill hated to be around morose and moody people, and his undying optimism and positive thinking were a way of life for him which deeply affected everyone who knew him.</div>
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He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry on 3 June 1955—he entered active duty the same month with his new bride, Natalie Schoen, of Pittsford, New York.</div>
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Following completion of Infantry Officer Basic, Airborne and Ranger courses at Fort Benning, Georgia, Bill was assigned to Germany where he served as an instructor at the German Military Academy in Hannover and later with the 10th Infantry Division in Bamberg, Germany. Bill’s and Natalie’s first son, William Robert, was born in Hannover, Germany, in 1956</div>
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Bill returned to Fort Benning in 1959 to serve as aide-de-camp to the Commanding General, 2d Infantry Division. At Fort Benning a second son, John Ronald, was born in 1958, and a third son, Edward Foster, was born in 1960.</div>
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During the next ten years Bill served as a company commander with the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea, instructor with the Department of Tactics at the Military Academy, staff officer with the Department of the Army in the Pentagon, graduate of the Infantry Career Course and the Command and General Staff College, and in South Vietnam. He served with distinction in South Vietnam as the Deputy G3 and Executive Officer with an infantry battalion of the 28th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. He served in this battalion during both TET offenses and as a major very successfully commanded several battalion task forces. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, three Bronze Star Medals and several South Vietnamese decorations for his distinguished service in South Vietnam.</div>
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Bill and Natalie had their first daughter, Mary Helen, who was born in West Point in 1965. Their second daughter, Ann Elizabeth, was born in 1970 in Bethesda, Maryland. Needless to say, Bill was a devoted husband and a loving father. His family was always his foremost concern, and he treasured every moment he had with his wife and children.</div>
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Bill and his family returned to Germany in 1971. Following a year of assigning combat arms officers in Europe, he took command of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Division (Forward) in Boeblingen. Bill often described this assignment as the most challenging assignment of his military career. In addition to commanding his unit he was responsible for the welfare and support of 3,000 dependents living on Panzer Kaserne. He willingly accepted this added responsibility, and with imagination, organization and hardwork, immeasurably improved living conditions and facilities at the Kaserne. As a commander he established a reputation for taking care of his troops—they returned his loyalty in full measure.</div>
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Bill was a great outdoorsman. He loved to hunt. While in Germany some of his most memorable experiences and most cherished friends came from his hunting expeditions with his German Jager friends. He was an expert rifleman and an outstanding archer. He dreamed of the day when he would get his deer with a bow. He not only loved to hunt with the Germans but to work with them. As a battalion commander he established a very successful project partnership program with the 501st Jager Battalion in Boeblingen of which he was very proud. His enthusiasm and determination to “do things now and to do them right” prevailed.</div>
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After command, Bill was assigned to European Command Headquarters as a briefing officer. His last year in Europe he served again on the United States Army Europe staff in Heidelberg. The family returned to Washington, DC, in 1975, where Bill served two years as a staff officer with the Development and Readiness Command. During his off duty time he earned a master’s degree in English from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.</div>
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Bill retired from the Army in August 1977 and moved to Moorestown, New Jersey, where he was employed with the Connecticut General Insurance Company. He later accepted a position with Deleuw, Cather & Company in Philadelphia, and just prior to his death became legal administrator for the law firm of Fish and Neave in New York City.</div>
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Bill had numerous hobbies. He has a remarkable collection of hand-painted military miniatures. He built a cherry wood grandfather clock that leaves cabinet makers and clock lovers aghast. He built the layout for a Z-gauge model train from scratch. He was a voracious reader and loved to travel. He attacked some of the most formidable tombs with relish, especially if they were related to military history, his special love.</div>
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Bill died of lung cancer in the Burlington County Memorial hospital in Mt. Holly, New Jersey. He is survived by his immediate family, his mother and three brothers: Ronald who resides in Troy, New York; Warren who resides in Vero Beach, Florida and Steven who resides in Johnsonville, New York.</div>
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Major General Howard F. Stone and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bean Retired, Bill’s former roommates at the Academy, presented Bill’s eulogy at the West Point Chapel. General Stone best described the kind of person Bill Wilcox was—“He was larger than life. He was truly the kind of rare individual the rest of us hoped we might become—but we knew we could never achieve.” That was Bill Wilcox. We shall all miss him.</div>
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May he rest in peace.</div>
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<em>—Dan Zenk</em></div>
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