Bill Schlutz is the son of a World War II sailor. In 1962, at the age of 16, he followed in his father’s footsteps, leaving the South Side of Chicago for destinations across the globe. After 20 years of active duty, Bill spent 31 more helping bring new navy ships to life, as a quality control specialist. With his signature big smile, Bill said, “I got to do what I wanted to do and walked the decks of ships for 51 years! I always wanted to be a sailor and loved every minute of it!”
Too few of us can say that we got to do what we really wanted to do in life. But that was the thread that spanned our 2-hour conversation about Bill’s adventures. Bill was a Gunners Mate, a job he loved and kept throughout his career. Trained at the Naval Station Great Lakes, Bill got his sea legs aboard the USS Northhampton, the Post World War II Command Cruzer, the second ship to carry this name. It was the designated flag ship of President John F. Kennedy during the Cold War.
From there, Bill served on the USS Forrestal, the first U.S. Super Carrier built with an angled deck. But Bill’s favorite duty was as the commander of a 4-sailor crew of the Patrol Boat River (PBR) No. 19 in Vietnam. It was 1967 and Bill and several PBRs helped protect the river-based flow of materials and supplies that served the Port of Saigon.
As he recalls it, his time on that 30-ft boat was his favorite. “I had purpose on that boat, because that was what I was trained to do.” For 21 months he and his crew patrolled the waters on 18-hour missions, from Naval Base Nha Be. Bill’s PBR’s call sign was “Shark”.
Over the next 14 years, Bill alternated between shore duty stations across the country and, as he fondly recalls, walking the decks of other ships – the USS Dewey, the USS Blandy, and finally the USS Kinkaid, the last ship he helped deliver to the Navy when he retired in 1982. But his deck walking days continued with a Navy contractor, as a quality control inspector, in Pascagoula.
Along the way, he met and married the love of his life, Donna in 1971. Introduced by a fellow sailor from Rochester, New York, Bill courted her during his duty station there. Bill and Donna have been married for 55 years and have two daughters (Kim and Sandy) and a son (Billy). They settled in Ocean Springs after his retirement from the Navy in 1982.
And yet, Bill is known for more than his service as a sailor. Bill and Donna have been active volunteers with the Boys Scouts of America since he arrived on the coast, which is how I met Bill 30 years ago. He is revered by adults and scouts alike as “Dollar Bill” for he and Donna’s management of the Trading Post at Camp Tiak and the Scout Shop in Biloxi.
But Bill does so much more, as a leader with his local troop, a senior advisor of the Tiak Lodge of the Order of the Arrow, and a member of the council’s training team. If you ask me, I will say that Bill loves Scouting as much as he claims to have loved being a sailor. He is all in – all of the time.
But Bill does have one regret about being a sailor, “I retired too soon”. For those of us that know this fine veteran, we are grateful that he did, because he loves whatever he chooses to do. We can all hope to have such a positive attitude in life. Happy Veterans Day Bill!
Photos courtesy of Bill Schultz.
