Colonel William A. Greynolds, 89

Published 9:08 am Thursday, October 12, 2023

Colonel William A. Greynolds died October 29, 2020, of natural causes during the height of the Covid pandemic. He was 89. He was born Oct. 14 in Loyall, KY, the second of three children born to Minnie Hoskins Greynolds and Alva Lester (A.L.) Greynolds. Following graduation from Loyall High School in 1949, Bill headed to Eastern Kentucky University, where he joined ROTC. That decision developed into a distinguished Army career that spanned three decades. It included two tours of Vietnam (the first as one of the earliest advisors President Kennedy sent to South Vietnam), three years with an atomic missile battalion in West Germany, time as a White House social aide in the Johnson and Nixon administrations and stints in Hawaii, the Army War College, the Naval War College and the Pentagon. He received many awards and medals, including three Bronze Stars and three Legions of Merit. Along the way, talents he exhibited as a boy blossomed. He became a master gardener, growing sweet corn that was served to his men in Vietnam and later, with longtime friend Helene Boatner, establishing a historical garden at the Petersen House, the residence where President Lincoln died. He became an accomplished stained-glass artist. He donated his collections of Tiffany art glass and ceramics by contemporary porcelain artist Cliff Lee to the University of Kentucky Art Museum. Bill’s turn as an actor started at the Loyall High School, continued at EKU and even into the Army. He had an opening role playing himself in “Your Best Bet,” an award-winning Army training film about continuing educational opportunities available to soldiers. Bill produced the film in Hawaii in 1974. Bill’s long Army career met the recruiter poster’s promise of “Join the Army and See the World.” In addition to his military travels, he visited every continent but Antarctica. During his three years as a second lieutenant in Germany in the late 1950s, he was commended for a computation that factored in wind, resulting in a missile that could be fired 75 miles and land within 20 feet of its target. He and Army friends enjoyed touring Europe in Bill’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air convertible. In retirement, he chauffeured friends and even some brides in a restored similar model. In 1962, he volunteered to serve as an advisor to the Commander of the South Vietnamese Battalion and the Commander of the Vietnamese Rangers in the Mekong Delta. After that first tour in Vietnam, Bill, by then a major, was assistant chief of staff for the 1st Infantry Division. He developed a successful plan to move 4,000 troops from Ft. Riley in Kansas to Elgin Air Force Base in Florida, and back. He initiated and coordinated the base’s first Arbor Day observation, overseeing the planting of 5,000 trees that created shade for decades to follow. Then it was off to the College of Navy and Staff in Newport, RI. That same year he earned a Master of Science in International Relations at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 1972, his thesis “Movies and the Military,” was published in Parameters, The Journal of the Army War College. While at the Pentagon at his next assignment, Bill was selected as social aide to the White House at the end of the Johnson and beginning of the Nixon administrations. Bill’s mother, Minnie Greynolds, was thrilled to make two visits to the White House. When she met President Johnson, she admonished him “to take good care of my boy Billy.” In 1969, Bill went back to Vietnam for a second tour. He was given command of the world’s only artillery battalion mounted on barges. Bill later was given command of a second of artillery battalion that supported the 199th Light Infantry Brigade. In this Vietnam tour Bill was awarded the first two of three Legion of Merits and an Air Award for the many hours of flying while exposed to enemy fire. During this tour he was in a helicopter that was shot down. Bill found himself hanging upside in a tree with bullets whizzing around him. The chopper was destroyed. He survived. In 1972 Bill graduated from the Army War College in Carlisle, PA. His next stop was Hawaii to be Chief of Personnel Services for the Pacific Command. Two years later, he returned to the Pentagon to become chief of the Army Recruitment and Reenlistment Center. The draft had ended. Innovative and aggressive recruiting were needed to make the Volunteer Army a success. He worked five years on the project, earning a second Legion of Merit. Colonel Greynolds ended his Army career in 1983 after serving for five years as the Assistant to the Army Adjutant General. At his retirement ceremony, he was awarded his third Legion of Merit with Three Oak Leaf Cluster. Bill next put in 13 years at the Institute for Defense Analysis. Full retirement brought more time for gardening at his home in Arlington, VA, the skill he had learned from A.L. Greynolds so many decades before. In 2006, he was named Volunteer of the Year by the National Parks Service for his service at Ford’s Theatre and the Petersen House. Bill was an avid traveler and courageous adventurer. He sailed, hiked, snorkled and scuba dived. He loved taking photos, entertaining, movies, theatre, the natural world and history. Warm, funny and unpretentious, he called forth the best in others. He was a consummate host and wonderful cook. Above all, Bill was the quintessential officer and gentleman. In 2015, Bill moved to Lexington Kentucky to be closer to family members. His last garden there was a 20-by-30-foot butterfly garden on the grounds of the community where he lived. Bill’s father died in 1969. His beloved mother Minnie married Don Stafford, who both pre-deceased Bill, as did Bill’s younger brother, Chester A. Greynolds (Georgetown, KY) and brother-in-law Robert Gibson (Lexington, KY). He is survived by his older sister Patsy Greynolds Gibson, Lexington, KY; sister-in-law Margaret Thornton Greynolds, Georgetown, KY; nieces Pace Cooke Emmons (Andy Mead), Lexington, KY; Lee Greynolds and Jeanne Greynolds Devers (Mike), Georgetown Kentucky; nephews Andy Greynolds (Jean), Liberty, KY; and John R. Cooke, Montclair, NJ. A celebration of his life was held in June 2022 following the interment of his remains with Helene Boatner (who died in January, 2000) at Columbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, VA. The family asks that those who would like to honor Bill’s memory cultivate flowers and trees wherever they are and volunteer or donate to a favorite public garden, conservatory or arboretum, After his move to Lexington, Bill especially enjoyed The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, 500 Alumni Drive, Lexington, KY 40503; https://uky.networkforgood.com/causes/4751-the-arboretum. Personal remembrances sent to rememberingbillgreynolds@gmail.com will be shared with the family. William A. Greynolds 1931-2020