“Our father never pressed us to serve,” Billy, 77, of Wyoming, recalled. “He would tell us if you don’t want to, don’t. But I am glad I did. It taught me honesty, courage, and sacrifice.”
Billy enlisted in the Navy in 1968 during the Vietnam War and was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. As a corpsman, Billy answered the call for the high demand for medics and took immense pride in his contribution to his country.
Changes in career and health
After serving in the Navy for just one year, an injury and complications from it cut Billy’s service short. But Billy’s commitment to helping others never wavered. In 1968, he spent a year working in a psych ward of a naval base hospital, caring for soldiers struggling to cope with the psychological toll of the Vietnam war. He also worked as a hospital orderly and ambulance driver, and is most proud of his 22-year career in the medical equipment field. While working with the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), Billy obtained substantial funding for wheelchairs and other essential equipment.
Through the years, ongoing medical challenges have limited Billy’s ability to experience life to the fullest. In 1980, a fall from a ladder eventually resulted in the need to use a wheelchair. He has battled and beaten prostate cancer and is living with Stage 4 COPD, from which he experiences severely decreased lung function. And now, he is battling a lung cancer diagnosis as well.
Through these challenges, Billy’s husband, Paul, has remained by his side for 44 years and helps care for him physically and emotionally. “Our love keeps growing. I will be with him until my dying days,” Billy said.
An opportunity for honor
Billy still takes great pride in his family’s military legacy and thinks often of his best friend, who was drafted into the Army and killed in action during the Vietnam War. He dreamed of visiting Washington, D.C., to honor his fallen comrades and to find his best friend’s name etched on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.
Wish of a Lifetime from AARP was honored to celebrate Billy and his service with a trip to Washington, D.C., alongside other Wyoming veterans through our 2025 Voyage of Valor program. The veterans were greeted with a grand military welcome ceremony and by elementary students from Tennessee who had traveled to see the monuments themselves. The students had written letters in advance to recognize and thank the veterans for their service.
Billy found himself tearing up when one boy approached him with a handwritten letter bearing his name. “I started reading these letters and other pamphlets they had in there, and I started bawling. He says, ‘I’m sorry to make you upset.’ I go, ‘No, no, these are happy tears.’”
Seeing the Washington Monument, the Capitol, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Smithsonian Institution, and more, with Paul by his side, was emotional for Billy.
But it didn’t end there. When the veterans returned from the Voyage of Valor trip, AARP Wyoming had arranged for Cheyenne community members to greet them with a welcome rally and a celebratory motorcade through the city.
“They said, ‘Welcome home.’ That just got to me, that hit me. Finally, we’re getting the recognition that we should’ve gotten years ago,” Billy said.
Voyage of Valor offered Billy profound healing, a deep sense of camaraderie, and a renewed purpose that is fueling his strength and perseverance through his continuing battle with cancer.
United in Tribute to Veterans
The 2025 Voyage of Valor was made possible through the incredible support of the Collette Foundation, our Presenting Sponsor, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, AARP Wyoming, the AARP Office of Community Engagement, and the AARP Veterans and Military Families Initiative.
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