World War II Honoree

William Johnstone Fairgrieve

Branch of Service

U.S. Navy

Hometown

Lodi, California

Honored By

A Grateful American

HE GRADUATED FROM A BRONX HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK CITY IN 1943 AND PROMPTLY ENLISTED IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY. AFTER GRADUATING FROM BOOT CAMP HE WAS SELECTED FOR OFFICER TRAINING AND ATTENDED PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. AFTER TWO YEARS HE WAS COMMISSIONED AN ENSIGN AND COMPLETED ADDITIONAL TRAINING. HE THEN WAS ASSIGNED TO THE USS MONTPELIER, A LIGHT CRUISER BASED IN FLORIDA. HE REPORTED ABOARD JUST AS THE WAR IN EUROPE WAS ENDING. HE COMPLETED ONE ATLANTIC CRUISE BEFORE BEING REASSIGNED TO COMPLETE HIS UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. HE WAS THEN ASSIGNED TO A NAVY DESTROYER SQUADRON BASED IN SAN DIEGO AND WAS DEPLOYED TO THE WESTERN PACIFIC.