William Alexander Graham

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by West Point 1955 on October 3, 2016:

William Alexander Graham Memorial services will be held for William (Bill) Alexander Graham, 86, at Glenmoor's Crichton Hall in WGV, St. Augustine, FL, on Friday, October 7, 2016, at 4:00 pm. He was born in Washington DC to William A. and Beulah E. (Ragan) Graham. He spent his early years in Arlington, VA, and developed an affinity for military life while a high school cadet at Washington-Lee High School. He moved to Vista, CA in 1947, and when the Korean War broke out, he entered the army as a PFC and served at Camp Cooke, CA. After passing the annual exam for the US Military Academy, he entered West Point the following June. Bill married Kathleen Kiefer in the Old Cadet Chapel on the day he graduated from the West Point Academy in June, 1955. As a second lieutenant, he attended flight school in Texas in 1956. He received a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from Virginia Tech in 1961. During the "Cold War," Bill commanded a small flight detachment out of Ankara, Turkey. He went on to serve two tours in Vietnam, where he was awarded numerous air medals, several bronze stars, the Purple Heart, and the Legion of Merit. In 1965, he attended the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and was a test pilot until he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1976. He continued testing planes with Piper Aircraft in Vero Beach, FL, before choosing to pursue a fifteen year career as an investment broker. Bill and his wife moved to St. Augustine from Vero Beach, FL. in 2010. Bill passed away Thursday, September 29, 2016. A graveside service will be held at the West Point Academy at a future date. Surviving family members include his wife of 61 years, Kathleen, their three daughters, Linda (Jeff) Wickham, Jennifer (John) Hulsberg, and Marjorie (Jack) Castagna, their six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and his sisters, Helen (Dick) Butler and Marilyn (Mike) Huttleston. At the request of the family, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice. Bill's favorite charities were organizations researching Alzheimer's disease and cancer, Community Hospice, and the Humane Society.

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