Like most young men, William McNabb admired and respected those in the military. He knew one day he wanted to serve his country and do his part. At the onset of World War II, William was just a young teenager. Throughout the war, he felt the calling to serve his country – however, he was still too young to enlist. At the age of 18, in 1947, William finally fulfilled that dream and enlisted in the United States Navy.
William was assigned to the USS Dayton, a CL-105 vessel. In addition to other locations, the Dayton spent a good amount of time in the Mediterranean Sea participating in maneuvers off Malta and several foreign ports until returning to the US. While on board, William served as a Yeoman. As part of his job, he was responsible for clerical work including communications, certifications, and maintaining all records of the crew. He distributed Liberty cards – allowing crew to go to shore. He carried out the captain’s orders for crew discipline and delivered messages on behalf of the captain over the loudspeaker ship wide.
In 1949, the Dayton was decommissioned. William stayed aboard during the decommissioning process in Boston. As Yeoman, he was responsible to transfer crew and records from the ship to their next assignment throughout the world. William’s tour ended in 1950.
William will soon celebrate his 94th birthday and his sense of humor is well known. When asked why he chose the Navy over the other branches of the military, his response was “I liked fishing”! Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do any fishing during this time on the USS Dayton, however, his dedication to his country is forever admired and remembered.
William McNabb was honored with a Quilt of Valor for his service, sacrifice, and dedication to his country. Quilts of Valor is a foundation started by a military mom. The mission is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing quilts. To-date, more than 300,000 quilts have been distributed. William’s quilt was presented by his son-in-law, Gary Smith (a Vietnam Veteran himself), and VNA & Blue Water Hospice Chaplain Vicki Torrey (a US Marine Veteran).
Thank you, William McNabb, for your dedication and service to the United States.
Learn more about Quilts of Valor at www.qovf.org.