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William H. Zierdt III 1959

Cullum No. 22557-1959 | March 13, 2022 | Died in Oshkosh, WI
Cremated.


Lieutenant Colonel William Henry “Bill” Zierdt III (USA Retired), age 85, died suddenly but peacefully of congestive heart failure on March 13, 2022 at Evergreen Retirement Community, Oshkosh, WI. Death came shortly after Bill enjoyed a daily dinner with Alyson, his wife of over 30 years. They recently moved from Fond du Lac, WI to Evergreen, where Bill’s increasing health needs could be met while Alyson lived independently. 

Bill Zierdt settled in Fond du Lac after being born January 5, 1937 in Philadelphia, PA. He considered his grandfather’s chicken farm in eastern Pennsylvania as home and led a peripatetic lifestyle in a dozen states and four countries while working in a few more. He graduated from West Point in 1959 and spent 20 years in the Army as a Cavalry commander and, later, as an academic. His two tours in Vietnam were flying helicopters and, after forming a unit of 338 troops at Fort Hood, TX, leading the 1969 summer campaign in the A Shau Valley. He received two Legions of Merit and two Distinguished Flying Crosses during his service in Vietnam. 

Bill reflected much later in life on accomplishing a mission in the A Shau and its lifelong effect on him. “Three pilots, of 44, had flown in Vietnam, or anywhere other than flight school, and the enlisted ranks were similarly almost all directly from AIT. Add, perhaps, a half dozen sergeants who understood where we were going and represented all the experience in the troop. Whatever we accomplished, we accomplished ourselves with seven months of long days and weekends unknown. We grew into one large family with our ‘other families’ for those few who were married relegated to support roles. It took a very short while at LZ Sally to learn the pain involved in loss of family. Each casualty, inevitable in Cavalry operations, to me was the loss of a son, loss of a brother, loss of a friend, loss of a part of myself. By the time we were the last troops off the top of Hamburger Hill a few months later, several had died and many more had been evacuated. My life goals had changed; my personality had changed; and I sought refuge for a few days with Carl Weaver, who was commanding a Mohawk unit at Da Nang, before moving on to being a staff officer, a category of humanity I never learned to appreciate.”

During his military career Bill also earned further degrees and education from University of Southern California, University of Chicago, Cambridge University, and Erasmus University Rotterdam.

When he left the military, Bill made a complete break and had very limited contact with classmates and colleagues for 20 years. After 10 years of self-employment, he accepted a position at Marian College (now University) in Fond du Lac, where he served until his retirement in 2005. Much of this time was spent running from his military service, which had become a very painful part of his life. It was years later that he accepted that he could be a good Cavalry officer while being uncomfortable with other aspects of military service in an increasingly militaristic society.

Bill said, “The healing of the invisible wounds of Vietnam did not really begin until 2002 when I was sent a copy of a letter I had signed 19 June 1969 informing a three-year-old of his father’s death. Only after seeing that letter did I begin to realize the pain I had inflicted upon myself and those most important to me while unable to fully function as a human being. Healing proceeds and, though I shall never expect understanding, I appreciate the forgiveness of my three children and the support of Alyson who has lived the aftermath without our having known one another until long after my service ended.”

Bill served as commodore of the Fond du Lac Yacht Club and on boards of Windhover and, subsequently, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts (Fond du Lac), and he voluntarily worked with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in Oshkosh for 18 years, both at Pioneer Airport and as the rotorcraft announcer during EAA Airventure each summer. He was a volunteer mediator for the Winnebago County Center for Conflict Resolution, also in Oshkosh.

In addition to his wife, Alyson, Bill is survived by his children: Katrina (Tracy) Burns, Michele Zierdt (Glenn Vance), and William H. “Billie” Zierdt IV (Carrie Christofano); his stepson, Steven Betzold; his grandchildren: Rhiannon (Alex) Stanuch, Gaven Burns (Tonia Osby), Liberty Zierdt and Freedom Zierdt; and his great-granddaughter, Lolah Burns. He is also survived by Carl Weaver (USMA Class of 1959), his best friend since age 12, and other relatives and friends.

Bill donated his body to the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health for educational purposes. His request for a memorial celebration at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, was fulfilled on May 22, 2022.

“Bill was kind, complex, brilliant, troubled by PTSD from two tours of duty in Vietnam, substantive, a stunningly good public speaker, funny and never boring,” says Alyson. “I loved him every day for the last 31 years of his life. I shall miss him every remaining day of mine.”

Bill Zierdt and Alyson Zierdt 

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