Second Lieutenant
United States Marine Corps Reserve
William C. “Bill” Durand, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Durand, was born in Fort Madison, Iowa on 30 May 1930. In a family of six, Bill was the fifth child. His siblings include Alice E. “Betty” Sample, Lorraine Callahan, Ruth Mary Bradley, and Charles H. Jr. and F. Jerry Durand.
The Durand Family, one of French, German, and English ancestry and one of service to country and God, welcomed Bill into their midst with love, affection, and joy. The father served in the Signal Corps in World War I; Betty was a WAVE; Lorraine, a Marine; Charles Jr., a sailor in World War II; Bill was a Marine; and Jerry was a sailor in the Korean Conflict. Ruth was a member of Congregation of the Humility of Mary for over 20 years. The matriarch of the family presided over her brood for 102 years, always a devout Catholic and a staunch Democrat.
Bill was a sweet, gentle boy, mischievous but thoughtful and quiet, probably because he was between the two most loquacious siblings, Ruth and Jerry, in a family that was very verbal. Bill was always the peacemaker. Once when he was about four, he came into the house after washing his bare feet with the hose. He put on his shoes and socks and sat quietly next to his mother. Later she discovered that there were mysterious footprints in the wet cement in the new sidewalk across the street, just the size of Bill’s feet. Bill just smiled and said nothing. Later when he was seven and in the second grade at Sacred Heart School in fort Madison, Iowa, he and Ruth were taking a shortcut to school and he tried to scale a high chain metal fence with barbed wire on top. He became impaled and was “saved” when a man on crutches came by and yanked Bill off with his crutch. Bill just smiled and continued on his way to school. Besides liking people, Bill loved animals and would talk to all he met. He used to scare Ruth and Jerry when he would get dogs to bark at them as they walked down the street. Throughout his life he always had a dog as a pet.
The family moved to Quincy, Illinois were Bill attended fourth, fifth, and sixth grades at Saint John the Baptist School. Bill believed in integrity. One day his sixth grade teacher falsely accused Bill of some infraction. She said he must apologize or else he would be expelled. Ruth was in the hallway at the same time just as she heard her brother say, “So long, Sister.” And off he went home, rather than acknowledge something he hadn’t done.
During the latter of sixth grade, the family moved to Davenport where Bill attended Saint Anthony’s. Throughout his first twelve years of schooling, Bill always acted as a server at mass and as a mentor for the younger servers. When “Going My Way” came out, Sister Valerian, BVM, said Bill was just like the priest Bing Crosby portrayed in the movie. She thought he would be a great priest. So did Bill. He had thought this since first grade. While at Saint Anthony’s, Bill and fellow classmate Bill Reagan took clarinet lessons from Brother Droulet. They called themselves “The Licorice Stick Kings” and their motto was “Swing and Sway with Brother Droulet.” Although Bill delivered newspapers everyday, he still found time to play. This almost led to his demise. His mother warned Bill and his friends not to play “King of the Mountain.” Bill and a group from Saint Anthony’s, including Jim and Pat Barrett, played anyway. The boys were barefoot; Bill slipped and almost severed his heel. He was bleeding profusely but all the boys were afraid to tell. Finally someone had enough sense to realize the seriousness of the situation and told Bill’s mom so he could receive medical attention.
Bill enjoyed his classes at Saint Ambrose Academy, especially English taught by Father Bill Kerrigan. He developed a great appreciation for literature and the language from this class. Besides playing in the Saint Ambrose Academy Band, he played baseball and even tried boxing. He was famous, or infamous, for trying to steal bases and for always getting caught. He said that was because his legs were too short from the knees to the ankles.
Bill had a quick wit and he used it frequently, in his quiet way. The sisters at Immaculate Conception Academy needed honorable boys to escort the girl boarders to the Junior and Senior Proms and to other important affairs. Along with other classmates, Bill and his friend Bill Reagan were asked to be escorts. They used to bet each other a quarter to see which one would have the “lesser” beauty as a date. Once they each threw the other the quarter and simultaneously said, “You win!”
While in high school, Bill worked at a Rexall Drug Store in downtown Davenport and later in northwest Davenport. The Manager said Bill was someone on whom you could always depend. Every Thanksgiving week, Bill and Bill Reagan, would pluck turkeys on the Reagan farm so they would be ready to sell at Reagan’s Market at 8th and Harrison. During this time in high school, he and his sister Ruth looked very much alike, so Bill made up the fictive narrative that they were twins. A number of his Saint Ambrose Academy classmates thought Ruth had started school early and had skipped a grade, so they asked her for dates. Upon learning of their activity, their mother made them stop this nonsense.
After graduating From Saint Ambrose Academy in 1948, Bill wanted to enter the seminary, but not at Saint Ambrose College. Too many of his friends were attending Saint Ambrose College and the temptation to party and not to socialize would be too great. His pastor at Holy Family Parish, Monsignor Thomas Lawlor, told Bill he would have attend the local seminary, so Bill opted to attend regular college classes. One day on his way home from classes, Bill met a forlorn looking young man who appeared in need of a friend. Bill stopped to talk with him and discovered that he was a student at Saint Ambrose College, was from Memphis, Tennessee, and was without a place to stay. So Bill brought his new friend, Dave Powers, home as a guest, for the next two years. In the same vein but on a different level, Bill brought Smokey, a small Sheltie dog, home one day. Smokey lived with Bill’s family, as Bill’s dog, until Bill left for the service. Then Smokey moved to the other side of Davenport where he lived with Bill’s sister Lorraine and her family. On the day Bill died, Smokey showed up at the back door of Bill’s parents home.
However, the easy way of life: attending college and socializing with friends, all changed when Bill had an emergency appendectomy and as a result, dropped out of college for the semester. Later he continued working as a salesman for the Witwer Grocer Company Wholesalers, but now on a full time basis.
Because men of his age were being drafted for the service in Korea, Bill and a number of his friends enlisted in the United States Navy in 1950. After basic training, scoring high on his tests, he took flight training at the Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Florida. He received additional flight training at Corpus Christi, Texas. William later switched to the United States Marine Corps where he became a bomber pilot.
A week after receiving his wings, Bill married Frances M. Werthmann at Holy Family Church on 30 May 1953. In a letter to Ruth, Bill wrote; “… Really enjoyed my 4 ˝ months of married life in California. Sure hated to see it come to an end. Fran and I hold no grudge against the Marine Corps because we knew it was going to happen so have just decided to make the best of it. One good thing is that we’ll be able to save some money. You’ll never know how completely happy this married life has made me. I feel I have the finest wife a man could possibly have and know that what happens to some marriages will not happen to ours. Fran is a very religious girl and when two people attend Mass and Communion together frequently, I feel that something good will come out of that marriage. Here I am talking like a philosopher but really just trying to let you know that I’m very happy…” After Bill’s death, Fran gave birth to a boy, William Charles Durand II.
In October 1953 Bill left for South Korea where he was assigned to the Marine Attack Squadron VMA-251. During the short period after the Korean War, there was a shortage of pilots. Therefore, the pilots flew each night. Flying daily missions does wear a pilot down. Bill’s plane crashed on 31 December 1953, but he was able to walk away from it. While on a 4 January 1954, mission north of the Korean DMZ, William was directed by Air Force radar to intercept at the same time another aircraft approached the target. At 11:15 p.m., the pilot of a F3D who was providing high cover witnessed an explosion. Bill’s plane was reported to have crashed at 11:23 p.m. or eight minutes after the explosion was witnessed.
Weeks after his death, his sister Ruth received a long letter from Bill, dated 3 December 1953, in which he stated, “…As you know, I am over here in Korea defending the United States. I did as much defending going through the flight program as I am doing now. Actually we are sitting on a powder keg because this thing could start all over again any minute. One good thing is that we will be a lot better prepared for something this time but let’s pray and hope we don’t have to test our preparedness. Have been assigned to a night attack outfit and am awfully glad to be in it. Don’t let the word night throw you. We don’t do all our flying at night. This squadron is going to give me a lot of good experience because we get our regular day training hops plus rocket, bombing, straffing, and radar hops at night. When I do leave this squadron I’ll be just about checked out in all types of flying. Am still flying the A.D…”
While in Montana, Ruth received a letter from Bill in which he wrote; “…Do you get to do any skiing and ice skating? Just take it easy kid, or they may sign you up for the Olympics. We should get some skating in over here but I’m kind of afraid to try after a three year layoff.” He continued, “I had heard that Jerry was in Japan so when I got there I tried looking him up only to find out that he was in Pusan, Korea at the time. Sure hated missing him for it’s been over two years now.” (Jerry was part of the military escort who brought Bill home.) The letter continues, “If you ever want to feel sick to your stomach, you ought to see how these Korean people live. I’ve never felt so sorry for anyone in my life. Some people in the United States think they have things tough, but if a person could live like they do in the United States he would be a millionaire. The only consolation I’ve had since being here was seeing the children attend Mass at the Catholic orphanage. They really appreciate our religion, something that is very scarce in the United States today. Most of the kids are six to fourteen years old and they always sing the Mass in Korea. When I go again I’ll take some pictures and send them to you. I think you’ll like them.” During his spare time, Bill, who loved children dearly, worked with these Korean orphans. The compassion he showed the orphans was retuned to him when they sang his funeral mass. The liturgy was taped and sent to Bill’s parents. His mother listened to it until her 102nd year.
South Korean orphans singing at the funeral mass
(Photo courtesy Ruth Bradley)
Left to right: Marine Corps Chaplain Father O’Malley,
Orphanage Chaplain Father Joseph Hwang, William Durand
(Photo courtesy Ruth Bradley)
Besides his wife and son, William was survived by his parents; two brothers Charles H. Jr. and Jerry F. Durand; and three sisters, Betty Sample, Lorraine Callahan, and Ruth Bradley.
Second Lieutenant William C. Durand, United States Marine Corps Reserve, is buried in Davenport’s Mount Calvary Cemetery.
Source of Information:
1. Letter and pictures from Mrs. Ruth M. Bradley dated 13 January 2004. Ruth is William’s sister.
2. Davenport Democrat and Times, 21 February 1954, page 6.
3. Letter from Mrs. Ruth M. Bradley dated 30 January 2004.
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