William Henry Challenger Jr.

William, known to friends and family as ‘Chal’ was born February 1, 1936, in Wilkes Barre, PA.

Chal grew up in a modest household, the son of a waitress/hostess and truck driver, and graduated from Kingston High school in 1953. Upon graduation and following in his veteran father’s footsteps, he enlisted in the Navy in 1954 and became a corpsman (medic).

His early training and assignments were on the East Coast where his maturity and newfound medical skills were quickly put to the test. As an 18 to 19 year old, he found himself on flight status, often participating in search and rescue missions that all too often became grisly recovery missions. He also was the lead corpsman in the ER the day of an aircraft crash in Virginia where he took care of Sailors with horrific burns and injuries in the instantly chaotic environment. These experiences would later prove invaluable to his mental and emotional abilities to lead Soldiers through similar circumstances more than a decade later.

Following this initial assignment, he was off to Camp Pendleton, CA where he undertook the specialized and rigorous training required of a corpsman to be attached to Marine units, and then subsequently to Okinawa and Japan. There, he was assigned to and provided medical care for an aviation unit that conducted recon and helo-testing missions. During this time, he notably was tasked for an emergency mission to fly a young would-be mother back to the medical facility he was assigned to. With little time to prepare and having only the most basic of materials (think boot strings and a pocket knife), just he and the pilot took off. Thankfully they got her back to their hospital where she delivered her healthy baby boy. Chal would later describe the visit two days later from the young mother who sought him and the pilot out on the flight line to express her profound gratitude. Decades later he would still describe the elation he felt and as being on “top of the world”.

A story Chal often related was the pride he felt in his squared-away military appearance, what service members often described as being STRAC. He was often told by the command's USMC sergeant major that he “was the best-looking Marine in the outfit". High praise for a Sailor! His early emphasis on his professional appearance would never wane. Indeed, following these tours of duty he would experience a kind of culture shock when he was assigned to a unit that was in direct contrast to his previous assignments. It was hard for him to adjust to seeing one particular Sailor in a frayed uniform and rope belt!

Chal sometimes went against the grain and was quite willing to push limits and seek out new opportunities. This was never more evident than when he pursued his desire to expand his medical horizons and leave active duty for training at the Pennsylvania School of Nursing for Men in Philadelphia; one of the very few institutions then available for men seeking to serve in a field still judged to be only for women. It was during this time he would meet and train with his future wife Pat who was also training to be a nurse at another school nearby. Never far from the military, Chal continued as a drilling reservist throughout his nurse training.

In 1966, Chal left the enlisted ranks and was commissioned an Army officer in the Nursing Corps. Shortly thereafter, he was off to officer training in Texas, then married, and to follow-on assignments in Colorado and Kentucky. Ultimately, he volunteered and shipped off to become the head nurse for the 27th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Vietnam, where he would serve from 1968 to 1969.

It was during this tour that his junior-enlisted experience would pay off as he led his team through numerous wartime circumstances, such as the mass-casualty event from an aircraft that crashed on takeoff right near the hospital. This situation was especially difficult for him, noting that among the 35 casualties brought in from the airfield was his physician buddy who was just concluding his tour but nevertheless died from his injuries in the very ER that they together had led. Among the most rewarding of his professional experiences was how Chal standardized the management of surgical supplies, ensuring that no matter where you were operating in the ER, you could count on any given item being in a specific place and immediately restocked after each procedure. Such standardization improved the efficiency of the staff and safety of the operating environment for their patients immensely during his tour.

Upon completion of his tour in Vietnam, he would go on to assignments, typically as the head nurse in his specialty of psychiatry, at Beaumont and Brooke Army Medical Centers in Texas, Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland, Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, and finally Eisenhower Army Medical Center in GA. It was at Fort Gordon, after a collective 26 years of military service, 20 of which were active duty in three branches of the Department of Defense, that he retired with Pat and laid down the roots that were only severed with his passing after 42 years.

Chal continued nursing for almost 15 more years at the Veterans Administration and again at Eisenhower Army Medical Center, expanding his nursing skills in the fields of preventive medicine, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, PTSD, and research coordination.

Sadly he endured the tragic and sudden loss of his wife Pat in 1998 but thankfully, again found love and laughter in the arms of his new best friend and love Patsy. She would remain at his side until his very end; ever tender, ever patient, and ever loving.

Chal’s greatest joys were traveling, music, friendships, and family and very often these aspects of his life overlapped in the most meaningful of ways. He was skillful and took great pride in towing and maneuvering a variety of travel trailers and experienced the vast majority of the continental US through the windshield of his beloved trucks. He spent decades whirling about the dance floor during endless nights of laughter or traveling to concerts with friends gained through the local German American Club. And some of his happiest years were spent creating music with his harmonious brothers and sisters of the Garden City Chorus and New Horizon Band. He logged thousands of miles running and biking, beginning with his completion of the Honolulu Marathon to numerous Bike Rides Across Georgia. His pride in these accomplishments was deep and his friendships gained were numerous.

Chal is survived by his loving wife Patsy of Augusta, five children, three step-children, and 17 grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Lung Association.

Funeral services will be held at The Sanctuary, in Evans, at 4584 Cox Rd on July 14, 2022, at 4:00pm.