William "Bill" Heard was born in Bainbridge, Georgia.  At the age of four, his family moved to Helena, Georgia where his father was with the Civilian Conservation Corps.  Bill joined the Navy in 1945 and attended recruit training at RTC Bainbridge, MD. Upon completion of recruit training he was assigned to the USS ORION (AS 18) in the Panama Canal Zone. He then requested, and was approved, for reassignment to the USS RUNNER (SS 476) which was also in Panama, where he Qualified in Submarines.  In 1948 he transferred to the Inactive Fleet in Charleston, SC and was involved with putting ships out of commission.  Bill left the Navy in June 1950, decided to reenlist in August 1950, and was sent to the Receiving Station at Charleston, SC for reassignment.  From there he went to the USS OLSON (DE 765)(a Reserve Training Ship) at Tampa, FL.  Bill then requested transfer back to submarines and was approved for assignment to the USS SEA DOG (SS 401) in Key West, FL.  After his tour on SEA DOG he went to shore duty in Jacksonville, FL and then on to diesel engine refresher training and air conditioning and refrigeration schools in Great Lakes, IL.  From there he went to assignments at the U.S. Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy; the USS H.W. GILMORE (AS 11) in Charleston, SC; the USS TRINGER (ASR 16) in New London, CT; the USS IREX (SSN 482) in New London, CT; and finally on to the USS DOGFISH (SS 350) in New London, CT where he retired on 18 July 1966 as an Engineman First Class.  Bill was not able to keep track of the number of cool beers he consumed during his Naval Career, but he felt confident that he did his share to keep the distillers solvent. Ha! Ha!

 After retiring from the Navy, he went to work for Charles Phizer and Company at Groton, CT.  After seven months there, he moved to San Diego, CA and went to work for Campbell Machine Company as a Journeyman Machinist for two months until they went on strike.  He then got hired as a WG-10 Machinist at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard at Long Beach, CA and worked there for seven years.  Following that he went to General Dynamics in Pomona, CA as an Automatic Electronics Technician where he met his lovely wife Dianna.  Dianna had recently been discharged as a Sargent after completing four years in the Marine Corps and was working there as a Machinist running lathes, mills, and drills.  Bill retired from General Dynamics in November 1990, and he and Dianna decided to move to Brunswick, GA.  Fortunately for Bill, Dianna is now a Quality Assurance Inspector at Jered Industrial Firm in Brunswick, and she is able to support him in the manner to which he had become accustomed!

 Bill is the Past Base Commander/Chapter President of our Trident SUBVET Chapter here in Kings Bay, GA and is a Lifetime Member of U.S. SUBVETS WW II, U.S. SUBVETS, Inc., and U.S. Veterans of Foreign Wars.  He is also a member of the Fleet Reserve Association and the American Legion.