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Courtesy of William A. Read, Jr.
Although poor vision thwarted Bill Read's dream of becoming a fighter pilot, he earned a private pilot's license, excelled at aerial acrobatics, and remained a crack shot for the rest of his life.
Courtesy of William A. Read, Jr.

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Naval Institute Foundation

December 2011
Proceedings
Vol. 137/12/1,306
Article
View Issue
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In Appreciation: William A. Read Jr.

Thirty-two-year member and generous U.S. Naval Institute supporter Commander William Augustus Read Jr., died on Friday, 28 October, in Palm Beach, Florida. Larger than life, he packed several lifetimes into his 93 years.

Bill Read was born in Boston in 1918, the eldest of nine children. The tale of his hair-raising World War II adventure was recounted in the February 2010 Naval History article, “Two Coconuts and a Navy Cross,” by Barrett Tillman. Then-Lieutenant Read had volunteered for a mission as the bow-turret gunner of a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, which was shot down by the Japanese in the southwestern Philippines in October 1944.

He was one of eight surviving crew members who managed to swim several miles to tiny, remote Ramesamey Island in the shadow of the Japanese base at Palawan. Shortly after reaching the island, a Japanese plane was shot down and crashed nearly on top of the Americans’ hiding place. When an enemy officer emerged from the wreckage brandishing a bayonet, the unarmed Read successfully defended himself with the only weapon available to him: coconuts. After two months listed as missing in action, the Americans were rescued by the submarine USS Gunnell (SS-253) in December 1944.

Read had a postwar career as a partner in a New York municipal bonds firm. In retirement, he divided his time between Florida and Cody, Wyoming. His wife of nearly 50 years, Isabel Collier Read, predeceased him in February 2008. He was a lifelong gun enthusiast and an award-winning marksman. Among his many activities, he became a licensed alligator trapper, taking pride in filling his quota of 160 alligators annually with just 160 shots.

Defense Forum Washington 2011 Wrap-Up

The Naval Institute joins the Military Officers Association of America, our DFW 2011 co-host, in thanking Lockheed Martin Corporation for its support of this event as a patron sponsor. This was the fifth annual conference co-hosted by USNI and MOAA on the crucial wounded-warriors issue.

DFW 2011 addressed “The Journey Back: Helping Wounded Warriors and Their Families Transition.” The four keynote speakers were Dr. John Nagl, President, Center for a New American Security; The Honorable Terrie L. Suit, Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security for Virginia; General Peter W. Chiarelli, U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff; and The Honorable Allison A. Hickey, Under Secretary for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs. They were joined by two panels focusing on the key transition issues “Community Reintegration: The Challenges Back Home” and “Deployment to Employment: Are We Really Committed to Hiring Wounded Warriors?”

Your Tax Deduction is Our Strength

Gift income is essential to accomplishing the Naval Institute’s educational goals. Please take a minute before year’s end to make a tax-deductible contribution to support your Naval Institute. If you’ve already made a gift this year, thank you; we would be grateful if you’d consider making another. Donations postmarked by 31 December and received during the first week of January 2012 are eligible as a deduction from your 2011 taxes. We will provide a receipt for your records.

It is easy to make a gift using Visa, MasterCard, or American Express on the Institute’s website, www.usni.org (click “Donate”). You can charge a gift over the phone by calling Helen McMickle at (410) 295-1052. Gifts by cash, check, or charge can be mailed to the Naval Institute Foundation at 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402.

A reminder about gifting through your IRA: Individuals aged 70 1/2 and older can make tax-exempt charitable contributions up to $100,000 directly from their IRA to the Naval Institute. This could be advantageous to many IRA holders, because it satisfies the minimum qualified distribution rule, and the contributed amount is deducted from the adjusted gross income and, therefore, tax-exempt.

’Tis the Season

Our sincere thanks to all who have so generously supported the Naval Institute in 2011. Please accept our best wishes for the holiday season and throughout the new year. Your Naval Institute family will strive to continue serving your interests in 2012.

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