<p>A Life Well Lived.</p>
<p>Duty. Honor. Country. These words instilled in us at West Point a core set of values that would remain with us throughout our lives. For many of us, they were the foundation for lives of public service. (Bill’s words in the Class Legacy Book)</p>
<p>And, so it was for Bill.</p>
<p>We all knew <em>William Earl “Bill” Damon Jr.</em> from Big Stone Gap, VA, with a grin a mile wide and an unmistakable Southern twang that we all came to love. He was the second child of William E. Damon Sr. and Katherine (Louise) Snodgrass. He loved the outdoors and at an early age wanted to be in the Forest Service. In fact, he grew up surrounded by the same national forest that he would come to love later in life. During his years attending Powell Valley High School, he was an avid reader who excelled in academics, lettered in football, and sang in the Glee Club. His reputation as a student/leader ultimately led his congressman (Virginia’s 9th District) to offer him an appointment to West Point, an opportunity he said he couldn’t refuse.</p>
<p>Bill entered West Point on July 1, 1965, passing through New York City for the very first time on his way up the Hudson. Academics came easy for him, and he graduated in the top 15 percent of the class. We all knew him as an affable, unassuming person always ready to help a classmate with academics, sports, or whatever was needed. Typical is one classmate’s remembrance of Bill—helping him learn how to swim—readily giving up his own free time and remaining committed until the mission was accomplished. And, boy, could he eat. That same classmate remembers Bill visiting his home during summer leave. While his parents fell in love with Bill, they did remark their food bill for the two weeks he visited was equal to their normal expenditure for two months. (His voracious appetite was corroborated by a high school classmate.)</p>
<p>Upon graduating, Bill was commissioned Armor, but after an injury in Ranger School he transferred to the Transportation Corps. He served his country in Vietnam, where he commanded a Transportation Company, as he did in Germany and at Fort Hood, TX. While at Fort Hood, he met his future wife, Raynelle, who was completing a two-year stint in the WACs. They were married in June 1973 and went on to have three children: Will, Suzanne, and Tracy. The lure of the Forest Service, however, continued to tug at Bill, and the Damons left the Army in 1974. Bill then earned an M.A. in forestry from the University of Idaho and began his 35-year career of service with the USDA’s Forest Service. As his assignments increased in complexity and responsibility, Bill and his family crisscrossed the United States, from Alaska to North Carolina.</p>
<p>For each of those assignments, Bill is most remembered by his colleagues for his leadership. To those within the organization, he was a kind, gentle leader who insisted that people did their jobs competently and with integrity. To those outside the organization, he would not back down in the face of moneyed interests when he believed that his beloved national lands were not being adequately protected. These two characteristics endeared him to all who had the pleasure of serving under his command. On his final assignment in the Forest Service he achieved the pinnacle of field command by being named forest supervisor of the then recently combined George Washington/Jefferson National Forests, 1.9 million acres of the Appalachians covering three states in the Shenandoah Valley. This was a particularly challenging assignment because it brought together two different organizations and required addressing difficult personnel and cultural issues. Bill was the right person for this job; he was, after all, an exemplary West Pointer.</p>
<p>While Bill “officially” retired in 2004, he continued to serve the Forest Service on National Incident Command Teams whenever asked. His sense of duty was so great that he did so throughout his 10-year battle with cancer, only fully retiring when he no longer had the physical strength to continue serving. He initially worked incidents such as forest fires with his boots on the ground and even participated in the Space Shuttle Challenger recovery effort. His responsibilities included managing the complex logistics required to bring the right resources at the right time to the critical place to accomplish the mission. Bill was especially proficient with computers and technology, namely the e-iSuite program, which proved a challenge to others but not to Bill. He took it upon himself to master this software so much so that he became the “go-to” person for the entire Forest Service. The common refrain was “1-800-CALL-BILL” when anyone needed help.</p>
<p>Bill loved his work, but, even more so, he loved his family. He was immensely proud of the fact that he and Raynelle successfully imbued their children with those characteristics that Bill had initially been taught by his parents and further honed at West Point. Bill’s children are now passing those values on to his six grandchildren—a fine and fitting legacy.</p>
<p>Bill was a humble, unassuming, principled person who, without fanfare, led a life of service to others. We, who were privileged to walk with him on this journey, have forever been changed. Bill is interred at Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon and will forever be a part of the forests in which he grew up and which he loved.</p>
<p>Well Done, Bill; Be Thou at Peace.</p>