William Henry Crowley

Colonel Crowley was born in Cambridge with his twin brother, James, sons of William J. and Helen C. Crowley. He was raised and educated in Boston schools. He attended Wentworth Institute and Northeastern University. He enlisted in the U.S. Military in 1942 and served for 38 years. He saw his first combat action in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater participating in six campaigns. He was one of four brothers, two sets of twins, in uniform during WWII. All served on foreign soil or on foreign waters. Colonel Crowley’s twin was killed in action over Germany in 1944.

Colonel Crowley was commissioned as 2nd LT, Infantry in 1950. He was a graduate of the Advanced Infantry Officer’s Course, Fort Leavenworth, KS, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and several service schools. His last assignment prior to his retirement was Assistant Chief of Staff, Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Campbell Barracks, Heidelberg, Germany.

His many awards and decorations include his cherished Presidential Unit Citation and the Combat Action Ribbon. The Presidential Unit Citation is even more meaningful in that Colonel Bill’s twin, Jim was also awarded this citation as a member of the 445th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force based in England. This is extremely unique that twin brothers were both recipients of this award while in different Theatres and serving in different branches of the U.S. Military in WWII. The Presidential Unit Citation is the highest unit award in the military and the equivalent of the Distinguished Service Cross for every man in the unit.

An active rifle and pistol competitor he was a member of the First Army and All Army Rifle Teams having participated several times at the U.S. Army World Wide Matches, Fort Benning, GA and at the National Rifle and Pistol Matches, Camp Perry, OH. He held a Master Classification in both disciplines.

He was also retired from AT&T International, last working in the Mideast. He performed consulting work for the U.S. Space Command, Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean. He was affiliated with SENCORP Systems, Hyannis and more recently with Down Cape Engineering, Yarmouth Port.

He was a lifelong member of several organizations including the Association of the U.S. Army, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, the National Rifle Association, the Gun Owners Action League, the Reading Rifle and Revolver Club, the American Legion Post 188, Sandwich, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 2578, Hyannis where he was past Post Commander and past District Commander, Cape and Islands. He was a member of the Hyannis Lodge of Elks and the Osterville Veterans Association.

During the winter months, he was a daily volunteer at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center, Bay Pines, FL and was recently awarded his ten year volunteer certificate. As a recipient of Service Connected Compensation he had strong concerns for those Veterans less fortunate. An accomplished scuba diver, he had participated in under water explorations in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and the South China Sea.

His various assignments saw him visiting the major cities of the world to include Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Rome, Paris, Brussels, Athens, Riyadh, Kuwait City, Cairo, Bangkok, Singapore, and Hong Kong. His favorite city was London. He often stated that he was more at home in London than he was in Boston. The first thing he would do as a first time visitor would be to purchase a street map and walking and using public transportation attempt to visit all the historical sites as time permitted. In Egypt he traveled North on the Nile to Abu Simbel with stops at Karnak, Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and other important sites.

An avid reader, he had a multi book library, both fiction and nonfiction. His favorite English authors were Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Evelyn Waugh and Winston Churchill. His favorite American authors were many and varied.

He also subscribed to Great Courses by known College and University professors, presenting their subjects in a classroom criterion. These included lectures on Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, the Byzantium World and others.

As a proud father there are many shared memories of he and the girls ice skating, swimming, sailing, rifle marksmanship at the rifle range. He was especially proud of his daughter’s successes in their chosen fields. Hi most cherished memories were of the family’s vacations in England and Spain. Memories beyond description.

Besides his wife Elinor of 70 years he is survived by his daughters Christina M. Stone and husband Gregory of Exeter, NH, Carolyn A. Crowley of Centerville, his brother Albert H. Crowley of Plymouth, MI, and his sister Elizabeth M. Rehling of Scotsdale, AZ. He is also survived by his grandchildren William A. Gulliver, and Thomas and Olivia Stone.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, July19, 2018 from 4:00pm to 8:00pm at Doane, Beal & Ames, 160 W Main St, Hyannis, MA. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, July 20, 2018 at 11:30am at Our Lady Of Victory Church, 230 S Main St, Centerville. Burial will be in the Massachusetts National Cemetery with full military honors.

Donations in his memory may be made, in lieu of flowers, to the Fisher House Foundation, 1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 600, Rockville, MD 20852.