<p>
Bill came to West Point from Malden, Massachusetts, where he was the highest ranking student in his high school class. A Charles Hayden Scholarship to M.I.T. was one of the many he was offered, and he spent one year at M.I.T. under that scholarship before coming to the Academy as a member of the Class of 1956.</p>
<p>
Bill was obviously well prepared academically for West Point, but from the first it was apparent that he was equally well qualified physically and morally. Most impressive about Bill were his conscientiousness and dependability—at West Point, synonomous with a high sense of duty. Yet, his conscientiousness was tempered by an unfading good humor and a tolerance for the frivolity and vanity of others, even though these traits could not be attributed to him. Bill chose the Air Force for his career, believing that in so doing he could best satisfy his two greatest aspirations: engineering and the desire to fly. He was not disappointed in his expectations.</p>
<p>
Following graduation Bill took primary pilot training at Malden Air Force Base, Malden, Missouri; in February he advanced to basic pilot training at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma. When he graduated, in August 1957, Bill was qualified as a multiengine pilot, with a full instrument rating.</p>
<p>
His first tactical assignment was with the 777th Troop Carrier Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina. Here he became further qualified as a tactical troop carrier pilot and aircraft commander in the C-119 and C-123 aircraft. During this tour he also became an instructor pilot.</p>
<p>
In 1959, while still at Pope Air Force Base, Bill met, courted, and married Anne Cowman. Their first child, Elizabeth Anne, was born on 23 May 1963, the fourth anniversary of their wedding. Their son, William Douglas, was born in 1965. Bill’s family gladdened his heart and added new dimensions to his soul.</p>
<p>
He applied for graduate schooling and was accepted at Stanford University for the summer of 1959. He asked, however, for a one-year delay, and subsequently was sent to the Air Force Institute of Technology in August 1960. He received his master of science degree in electrical engineering, guidance, and control in March 1962. While at Wright-Patterson, Bill also became a C-47 pilot.</p>
<p>
After receiving his degree, Bill was assigned to the 2802d Inertial Guidance and Calibration Group, Newark Air Force Station, Ohio. Here, for three years, he practiced his specialty in guidance and control in the Minuteman and other related systems.</p>
<p>
There was then a short tour as a pilot instructor with the U3-A aircraft at Kelly Air Force Base prior to his departure for Vietnam. In July 1966, he reported to the 4th Air Commando Squadron at Nha Trang, Vietnam, and was sent from there on temporary duty to Danang. There he first served as co-pilot of an AC-47, popularly known as “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” and after a matter of months he was given his own crew.</p>
<p>
At 0433 hours, 9 January 1967, Bill and his crew took off from Danang Air Base on a flare and gun-support mission. At approximately 0520, after receiving intensive hostile ground fire, his aircraft crashed at Quang Ngai. A Special Forces observer in the area reported seeing a bright flash followed by the crash in a Viet Cong-held cane field.</p>
<p>
The ground recovery party had to fight its way to the aircraft, and the bodies were lifted out by helicopter. There were no survivors.</p>
<p>
Prior to his fatal mission, Bill had been presented the Distinguished Flying Cross on 15 December 1966. The citation accompanying the award reads:</p>
<p>
Captain Charles W. Robertson distinguished himself by extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an AC-47 pilot over Southeast Asia on 26 August 1966. On that date, Captain Robertson assisted a Marine artillery unit which was under extreme mortar and automatic weapons fire from a numerically superior hostile force. Despite heavy antiaircraft fire, adverse weather conditions, and extremely mountainous terrain, Captain Robertson continually attacked the hostiles, until all fire ceased. He then attacked the hostiles’ escape routes and inflicted further casualties on the unfriendly forces. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Robertson reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.</p>
<p>
At Lackland Air Force Base, on 12 May 1967, in ceremonies at the office of Brig. Gen. Frank Wood, Anne was presented with Bill’s other awards: the Distinguished Flying Cross (first oak leaf cluster), the Air Medal with clusters 1 through 5, the Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart. The citation accompanying the oak leaf cluster to the DFC reads:</p>
<p>
Captain Charles W. Robertson distinguished himself by heroism while participating in aerial flight as an AC-47 aircraft commander near Quang Ngai, Republic of Vietnam, on 9 January 1967. On that date, while under intense and accurate fire from unfriendly forces, Captain Robertson demonstrated cool courage, undaunted determination, and superior skill in pressing home devastating air attacks against hostile positions. Persevering in the face of danger, he relentlessly and effectively aided in neutralizing the hostile forces. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Robertson reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.</p>
<p>
Bill was not a religious man, but he possessed the Christian virtues, and principal among these was his compassionate understanding of the human condition. He lived with "visioned help unsought, unknown.” He loved his fellow men.</p>
<p>
Thirty-four years fall far short of the time allotted most men, but it proved time enough for Bill to establish a solid record of achievement in the Service, and to earn the devotion and adoration of his loved ones.</p>
<p>
Bill would only have been wryly amused at any speculation on the vanity or merit in the circumstances surrounding his death. He knew that for many men nothing became them in their lives like the leaving of it, and that death on the battlefield has a way of ennobling an otherwise mediocre existence. For him, the relevant question would concern itself with the merit or vanity of a particular life. Does its passing ennoble death? Bill’s life was not in vain, and knowing that, the thought of his death is less intolerable.</p>
<p>
Seek out—less often sought than found— A soldier’s grave, for thee the best;</p>
<p>
Then look around, and choose thy ground, And take thy rest.</p>