William Fredrick Hecker

West Point, 1991

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Andrew Scott on May 30, 2011:

My daughters are 12, 12, and almost 9 and are at an age where I want to teach them the true meaning of Memorial Day, why we celebrate it, and understand that Freedom isn't Free. Freedom has been bought and paid for with the lives of over 1 million American soldiers over the course of nearly 250 years. It is these heroes that we celebrate and remember on this day. To make this lesson real, I ventured for the first time to the West Point website. I was a part of the Class of 1993 before leaving the Academy and graduating from the University of Texas. I wanted to show my daughters real men and women who have paid the ultimate price since the attack on our country in 2001. I was thankful that only 1 of my classmates had paid that price in this war. He was not a man I knew when I was at West Point. But as I glanced a few lines up, a chill ran down my spine as I saw the name under USMA 1991. Unfortunately this lesson for my daughters will be very real as their father tells them about my friend Bill Hecker who died in the cause of freedom so that they might live the life they now live. I met Bill in the summer of 1990 as a newly minted Yearling at Camp Buckner. Bill was a Firstie who was part of the cadet leadership team at Buckner that summer. For those unfamiliar with West Point lingo, Bill was heading into his senior year and I was entering my sophomore year after completing the dreaded plebe year. At the time, plebes were not "Recognized" until the day before graduation and then everyone heads home or to various duty assignments. I say that because I had basically no friendly relationship with an upperclassman prior to that summer at Buckner. Bill Hecker became my friend that summer. I learned to play guitar during 2nd semester plebe year (self taught) and Bill noticed the guitar at my bunk. He said, "Hey, Andrew, bring your guitar over to my barracks tonight and we'll jam." And that is exactly what we did many nights that summer. He taught me so many songs that summer....Country Roads, Brown Eyed Girl, Do You Believe In Magic, and The Boxer to name a few. But two stand out in my mind more than the others.... Cant Help Falling In Love With You by Elvis Presley. He showed me the cords and I was strumming it and singing but Bill said, "You have to learn to pick this song" He showed me how to pick the strings with my fingers in the right rhythm. I was so bad but he was a very patient teacher; I had it mastered by the end of the summer. With a laugh he said, "The girls will love that one Andrew!" This song is now a part of my family's story as I played it for my wife just before our first kiss. And the other song I will always remember from Bill was Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett. We would sing that one every night we were in camp and without fail cadets from all over would come and sing along. At the end of Camp Buckner, I performed that song at the talent show just as Bill had taught me. My classmates went crazy singing along and gave me a standing ovation that night. Even the Supe (Superintendent) who was in attendance cracked a smile. But what I remember most was Bill at the back of the room standing on his chair giving me the thumbs up. Bill invited me to join his small group of musicians in the Glee Club. 2 Firsties, a Cow, and me, the Yearling playing guitars, banjos, and a few percussion instruments depending on the song. My favorite percussion instrument was Bills car keys! Im not kidding...the song needed something jingling and Bill figured his car keys would do the trick (and they did!). He would introduce the song and create great tension talking about this new, ground breaking instrument we would be using during the song....and then he would pull out the keys and start jingling them and dancing with his hips. It ALWAYS got a laugh. Always. We played a couple of songs at each Glee Club concert over the course of that year and got to be a pretty decent little group. When I think back on my experiences at West Point, high on the list of favorite moments revolved around playing guitar and singing with this group led by Bill. Our last Glee Club concert just before graduation in 1991 featured an all female group from a womens college in Pennsylvania. Naturally, there was a huge contingent of cadets who attended to watch these ladies....and some came to listen to them sing as well ;) But what I remember was our little group performing near the end of this concert. Specifically, I remember Bill singing Margaritaville, inserting a riff in the middle, and changing the words to something that had all the cadets whooping and hollering and the girls blushing. I just remember laughing as I was strumming and seeing Bill with that "cat just got the canary" look on his face. It was a wonderful moment. Bill graduated shortly thereafter and entered the Army. I left the Academy, entered civilian life, and we lost touch. Though the arch of our lives crossed for but one year, I can say without question that America has lost one of its finest. I read recently that no one remembers what you say or even what you do....what they remember is how you made them feel. Bill made me feel accepted as an upperclassman and respected as a young man who was still figuring out who he was. In short, Bill made me feel good and I know that is the case for so many people who knew him. To Nancy Hecker, thank you for your words on this site about your son. I am so thankful to have known him. To you, your husband, Bill's brother, wife, and kids I am so sorry for your loss. I would like to think that someday when my time comes to meet our Maker, all those who impacted my life and went before me will be there to welcome me to heaven. And if that is the case, I have no doubt Bill will be there, guitar in hand, singing something like Margaritaville and giving me the thumbs up. I am honored to have known him. He will be remembered every Memorial Day by my family so long as I walk this earth. God Bless, Andrew Scott AScottUSA (at) gmail (dot) com

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