Thirty Years in Uniform: Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph Quinn (1930–2005)

Bill and Doris - Fordham University Ball - February 1951

Veterans Day, November 11, 2026

My father-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel William Joseph "Bill" Quinn, served thirty years in the United States Army in the U.S., Korea, Vietnam, Europe, and Israel. His military career took him from a young second lieutenant at Fort Eustis, Virginia, to a lieutenant colonel whose work centered on transportation, procurement, and contracting.

His decorations included two Bronze Star Medals, two Meritorious Service Medals, and the Legion of Merit. After retiring in 1982, he continued serving veterans through his work with the American Legion.

Early Life and Education

About 1938

William Joseph Quinn was born on 2 April 1930, in Manhattan, New York. The only son of Irish immigrants William Joseph Quinn and Susan Murray, Bill grew up in New York City with his four sisters, including his twin.

He attended Fordham University in the Bronx, where he joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). His summer training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, introduced him to the Army's Transportation Corps.

Bill graduated in June 1952 with a B.S. in accounting. On June 12, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Transportation Corps, Army Reserve, and entered active duty on July 31. That winter, he married Doris Staubach, who would share much of his Army life as they raised their five children.

Thirty Years in the Army

Bill's military service résumé, assignment orders, and award citations document a career that took him around the world. His responsibilities involved purchasing, contracting, transportation, and managing the supplies and services needed to support military operations.

Fort Eustis, Virginia (1952–56): His first assignment as a Transportation Corps officer.

Ohio and Fort Benning, Georgia (1957–60): After his initial active-duty period, Bill worked in civilian positions in Canton and Waverly, Ohio. He subsequently returned to active duty and was stationed at Fort Benning by 1958. 

Korea (1961–62): As a captain, he served as Chief and Contracting Officer of the Inchon Branch, U.S. Army Procurement Agency, Pacific. 

Korea 1962

Fort Knox, Kentucky (1963–64): Chief of the Commercial Traffic Branch, Transportation Office.

Fontainebleau, France (about 1964–66): Now a major, he served with the U.S. Army garrison at Caserne Lariboisière, which supported American military operations in the area.

William J. Quinn - 1967
Stamped Saigon

Vietnam (1966–67): Purchasing and Contracting Officer, Headquarters, 4th Transportation Command, Saigon. He received his first Bronze Star Medal for this assignment.

Detroit, Michigan (1967–69): Deputy Chief, Office of Systems and Financial Management, Defense Contract Administration Services Region, Detroit, which administered government defense contracts.

Germany (1969–72): Deputy Director of Procurement, Headquarters, U.S. Theater Army Support Command, Europe. He later became Chief of the Procurement Division, U.S. Army Procurement Agency, Europe, overseeing procurement operations throughout Germany. He received the Meritorious Service Medal in 1972.

Vietnam, second tour (1972–73): Senior Transportation Advisor to the South Vietnamese Army's Fifth Area Logistics Command, followed by Chief of the Procurement Branch, Supply and Transportation Division, Directorate of Logistics, Headquarters, MACV. He received his second Bronze Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Fort Eustis, Virginia (1973–79): Deputy Chief and later Acting Chief of the Contracting Division at the Army's Applied Technology Laboratory. A 1979 citation credited him with managing an average of more than 165 research and development contracts supporting Army air mobility. His work earned him a second Meritorious Service Medal.

Israel (1979–1980): Orders dated 12 June 1979 assigned Bill to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Near East Project Office in Tel Aviv. The office was managing the construction of two new Israeli air bases in the Negev Desert to replace bases Israel agreed to relinquish in the Sinai Peninsula under the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt.

Fort Eustis, Virginia (1980–82): Bill reported back to Fort Eustis on 3 May1980, and returned to the Applied Technology Laboratory of the U.S. Army Aviation Research and Development Command, where he had run contracting before Israel. He served in the laboratory's Contracting Division, the office behind the Army's aviation research contracts, for the last two years of his career. He retired from there in 1982, thirty years after he was commissioned, ending his service at the post where it began as an ROTC cadet.

Two Bronze Stars 

Bill received a Bronze Star Medal during each of his Vietnam tours.

His first citation, covering September 1966 through September 1967, praised his ability to solve problems arising from the constantly changing conditions of military operations. It recognized his "initiative, zeal, sound judgment, and devotion to duty."

His second Bronze Star, awarded for service from October 1972 through March 1973, recognized his work as a transportation advisor to the South Vietnamese Army and his subsequent assignment establishing a new Procurement Branch at Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). His responsibilities included overseeing contract reporting procedures, establishing a contract review board, and planning for the possible transfer of contracting procedures to the South Vietnamese Armed Forces. This work took place during the final withdrawal of American military forces following the January 1973 Paris Peace Accords.

Retirement

Bill retired from the Army in 1982 after thirty years of service and received the Legion of Merit upon his retirement.

His decorations included the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with First Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, and Vietnam Service Medal with three campaign stars, among other awards.

Bill and Doris remained in Newport News, Virginia, near Fort Eustis, where his Army career had begun.

Continuing to Serve Veterans

Retirement did not end Bill's commitment to military service and his fellow veterans.

He was a member of the American Legion for more than twenty-six years. At Denbigh Post 368 in Newport News, he served as post commander during two periods, 1985–1987 and 1996–2003. He also served as commander of the Legion's 3rd District and vice commander of the Legion's Department of Virginia, participated in the American Legion's National Security Council, and remained active on the department's finance committee until his death.

My husband and his father at the Legion
March 29, 2005

In a 1996 Daily Press interview, Bill spoke about the opportunities military service offered young people, including leadership, responsibility, and education.

Of his fellow Legionnaires, he said, "There is a camaraderie among Legion members that you won't find any place else."

Final Honors

William Joseph Quinn died in Newport News on 8 December 2005, at the age of seventy-five.

On 26 January 2006, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors performed by the Army's Old Guard.

He left behind Doris, his wife of more than fifty years, and their five children, who had shared much of his Army life.

From his first assignment at Fort Eustis to his final overseas posting in Israel, Bill devoted thirty years to serving his country. Through his continued involvement with the American Legion, he spent more than two decades afterward serving those who had worn the uniform.

It is a legacy worth remembering on Veterans Day.

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Diana

© 2026

Sources

This account was compiled from William J. Quinn's military service records, orders, award citations, newspaper articles, and family photographs, preserved by his family. Additional sources used are listed below. 

Frank N. Schubert, Building Air Bases in the Negev: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Israel, 1979–1982 (Washington, D.C.: Office of History, Corps of Engineers, and Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1992), 73–75; digital edition, U.S. Army Center of Military History (https://history.army.mil/portals/143/Images/Publications/catalog/70-45.pdf : accessed 11 November 2026).

Headquarters, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Bronze Star Medal citation, First Oak Leaf Cluster, Lieutenant Colonel William J. Quinn, for meritorious service October 1972–March 1973; original document, privately held in the William Joseph Quinn family collection.

Martin Gedra, “60 Days, 50 Years Ago,” The Text Message (blog), National Archives and Records Administration, 29 March 2023 (https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2023/03/29/60-days-50-years-ago/ : accessed 11 November 2026).

National Archives Museum, “Episode 11: Paris Peace Accords,” Remembering Vietnam, National Archives and Records Administration (https://visit.archives.gov/whats-on/explore-exhibits/episode-11-paris-peace-accords : accessed 11 November 2026).

Virginia Biggins, “A Meeting That’s Legion,” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 24 October 1996, p. D4, “Denbigh Life” section; newspaper clipping, privately held in the Quinn family collection.