William Nicholas Ciccolo Sr.

William (Bill) Nicholas Ciccolo Sr.

Col. (Ret.) U.S. Army, passed away on Sunday, August 21, 2016

Bill was born on November 20, 1930, in Cambridge Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of Angelo Michele Ciccolo and Ina (Johnston) Ciccolo and was raised with his three siblings Marie Griffin, John (Jack), and Robert Sr., on Milton Street in Dorchester MA. At age sixteen, while attending Boston English High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He attended Boston University and received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1952. Upon graduation, he received a regular army commission as a distinguished military graduate of ROTC. He attended infantry school at Ft. Benning, Georgia and in April 1953 he shipped to Korea where he served at Koje prison camp. Later as a second lieutenant, he became Company Commander of the L Company, 5th Calvary regiment, 1st Calvary Division in Hokkaido Japan.

In April of 1954, Patricia Mahoney, Bill’s fiancé, boarded a Pan American propeller Stratocruiser plane in Boston and flew to Japan stopping in California, Hawaii, and other Pacific islands. They were married in Hokkaido on April 24, 1954.

He served with the 101st Airborne division as a Company Commander. His 28-year career in the U.S. Army included two years as an Aide de Camp to the Commanding General of JUSMAAG in Athens Greece; two combat and leadership tours of duty in Vietnam; first as senior advisor to a Vietnamese airborne unit in 1965 and as Battalion Commander in the Mekong Delta in 1969-70. He also served with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Inspector General’s Office; He was Commander of the US Military Group in Paraguay.

His earned his Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Oklahoma. He was a graduate of the Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, KS and the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle PA. His military decorations include Silver and Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After retiring from the military, he worked for SRA Corporation as a Strategic Information Analyst.

But most of all, Bill was a loving and devoted husband to Patricia, an affectionate and proud father to his four children, Bill Jr., Lisa, Wayne and Dori and a wildly doting grandfather to Casey Leigh, Kyle Joe and Ryan Andrew Henson. He will be missed.

Funeral services will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on December 21 at 3 p.m. Family will receive friends after at the Ft. Myer Officers Club.