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<p><em>William Percy Gillette III</em> was born in Suffolk, VA to the late Edward and Mabel Gillette. In his early years he was known as Percy or William Percy, the names he is still known by in Suffolk. In college he changed his name to Bill. </p>
<p>In 1953, Bill graduated from Chuckatuck High School, where he played football and was a member of the debate club and 4-H club. Following high school graduation at age 16, he attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute for one year before being accepted into the United States Military Academy through an appointment from Congressman W.M. Abbit. Bill graduated from the Academy in 1958 and was commissioned into the U.S. Army as an Armor officer. </p>
<p>When Bill finished a year of training—Armor basic, airborne (where he had his primary parachute failed to open) and aviation—he had the fortune to marry his high school sweetheart, Nancy Claire Gwaltney, who saw him through three unaccompanied tours and 23 moves in 21 years. Bill and Nancy met in 1953 and dated throughout Bill’s years at West Point, Nancy taking the bus with other future wives from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA. Their first assignment after their marriage was in Colorado Springs, CO, where they were met by three feet of snow.</p>
<p>Nancy tells the story that she had always cleaned their quarters, but when leaving Fort Rucker, AL she had just given birth to their son, David, and Bill had to clean. He said that there was nothing to it but after that Nancy never had to clean again—Bill hired cleaners.</p>
<p>Duty assignments included tours in Korea, Vietnam (two tours), Pakistan, Germany, and various posts Stateside.</p>
<p>Early in his career, following a 16-month tour in Korea, Bill went to rotary wing transition, the Armor Officer Career Course, and ended up at Fort Benning, GA with the 11th Air Assault Division, where he and others developed and tested the air assault concept. During this assignment he and Walt Harman reinstituted the black Cavalry hat in the Army. They used salvaged OD drill sergeant hats until the supply ran out. He took a picture of his hat and sent it to the Stetson Company requesting a supply source. All black Cavalry hats since early 1965 are descendants of Bill’s hat.</p>
<p>After Bill’s second tour in Vietnam, he attended the Pakistan Army Staff College in Quetta, Pakistan, where he and his family were the only Americans in town. From there he explored Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India before the region became the area of American interest that we know today. He believed he left the people of Pakistan with a better view of Americans.</p>
<p>Following his assignment in Pakistan, he spent three-and-a-half years in Heidelberg, Germany assigned to NATO, HQ, CENTAG. While there he honed his skiing skills on the slopes of the Zugspitze in Germany. His love for the Tyrol area resulted in two-week ski trips to Landeck, Austria every year from 1979 to 2017, often joined by classmates.</p>
<p>Bill retired (last duty station, Fort Meade, MD) after a 21-year career serving his country. </p>
<p>During his Army career he earned numerous awards and medals, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge and numerous Air Medals. Some of his most treasured time in the Army was flying helicopters in the Air Cavalry.</p>
<p>After retiring, Bill remained in Odenton, MD and worked for Hittman/Westinghouse. During that time he earned a master’s degree in finance. He spent the next 25 years working as a financial advisor with Waddell and Reed Financial Services. He was a member of the Annapolis Lions Club. Also, during this time he joined the Maryland State Defense Force and developed its training command manual. Additionally, he served as commissioner on the Maryland Veterans Commission and was active in the Maryland Republican Party.</p>
<p>In 2011 Bill and Nancy retired to their home state and moved to Spotsylvania, VA, where Bill was a member of the Spotsylvania Lions Club, serving as president of the Spotsylvania Chapter from 2016 to 2017.</p>
<p>Over the years he enjoyed attending every West Point reunion, from the 25th to the 65th, as well as multiple mini-reunions (the most memorable being the mini-reunion in Thailand).</p>
<p>Throughout his life he was an avid hunter. His outdoor and hunting interests surfaced early in his life. While at West Point, he sometimes camped in the woods, often taking his bow and arrow with him, even surviving a surprise eight-inch, mid-April snowfall that pushed his tent against his nose. As a great hunter, he one time brought back a young squirrel he had captured and stored it (to the consternation of his roommates) in his locker and in his roommate’s phonograph before returning it to the woods. When he went on an overnight deer hunting trip on West Point grounds, he would go to the Mess Hall and draw his own venison rations that were being stored from his last hunting trip (not something that would happen now at the Academy). These stories tell you something about Bill: he was a man of conviction who was determined, self-sufficient and driven. The word “can’t” was not in his vocabulary. But he did like to have fun.</p>
<p>Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Nancy G. Gillette of Spotsylvania; his brother Robert E. Gillette of Suffolk, VA; four children: Deborah G. Nagle ’82 (Don Brady) of Alexandria, VA; Mary G. Delgado (Tony) of Greenville, SC; William David Gillette (Amy) of Monroe, NC; and Karen G. Pendleton (Jody) of Charlotte, NC; and 10 grandchildren.</p>
<p><em>— Nancy Gillette, Deborah Gillette Nagle, and Stew Willis</em></p>
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