William Albert “Bill” Blanding was born to USN Captain Robert and Marilyn Blanding on October 6, 1955 in Key West, FL. As a Navy family, the Blandings moved around a lot. Bill attended Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, VA, where he lettered in gymnastics, was the editorial editor of the school’s newspaper, and was a member of the Latin club. Bill’s younger brother, Wayne, and their father had both attended the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD; however, Bill decided to follow his grandfather Lieutenant General Albert Blanding (Camp Blanding in Florida is named for him) and go the Army route, being nominated to West Point by Congressman Haley from Polk County, Florida. Bill joined the “Proud and Great” Class of 1978 in July 1974.
After successfully completing Beast Barracks, Bill made friends in I-3 for the first two years and in H-4 for the final two years. During plebe year, Bill was a member of the Gymnastics and Wrestling teams and helped several less-skilled classmates (to include one of this article’s authors) make it through their gymnastics class and the dreaded obstacle course.
During the summer between plebe and yearling year, Bill joined First Company’s “The Mean Machine” 4th Platoon, participating in all the “fun in the sun” that Camp Buckner and Fort Knox, KY provided. He, along with the rest of first company, blazed the trail for the Infantry/RECONDO’s use of Area Tango on the reservation.
In his firstie year, Bill served H-4 as its first sergeant during one of the details. Throughout his time at West Point, Bill was a member of the Catholic Chapel Choir. It was through one of his choir mates (as well as classmate) that Bill met his future wife, Clara Lee Baumann, at the Washington, DC Debutante Society. After they met, Bill said, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.”
On June 24, 1978, Bill and Clara married in Washington, DC. After their honeymoon, he attended the Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic Course and then joined the 32nd Air Defense Command in Germany, where he served from 1979 to 1984 and was a battery commander from 1982 to 1984. After attending various schools and serving at various Army posts, Bill resigned his commission in 1988.
Bill joined the civilian world but continued serving his country as a federal government contractor for NASA’s programs. As part of his job, Bill would present program updates at the Pentagon. On the morning of 9/11, Bill was on his way to one of those presentations when he got stuck in a traffic accident jam on I-95. What a blessing that traffic jam was—otherwise he would have been in the section of the Pentagon that was struck by the terrorists onboard American Airlines Flight 77.
Bill and Clara resided in Orlando, FL; Alexandria, VA; and Annapolis, MD for over 20 years. They were active in the community and enjoyed traveling locally and to other more remote locales. Clara worked as a medical office manager and, in her spare time, picked up boating, beading, photography, and many other skills, while Bill continued working with NASA. Unfortunately, Clara Lee died in 2010.
Later that year, Bill and Ellie McLean met online. Bill was looking for someone to talk with; he and Ellie clicked immediately. At the time, Bill was living in Annapolis, MD while Ellie was 88 miles away in Salisbury, MD. They decided to meet at a restaurant in Cambridge, MD for dinner and spoke for so long that the staff asked them to go to the bar, so they could close the restaurant and Bill and Ellie could continue talking. Ever since, they talked non-stop, marrying in 2011. Ellie is an Air Force veteran and a trauma nurse, so, besides connecting immediately upon meeting, they had the common bond of being veterans.
Bill retired in 2011 and his Facebook post read, “Retired and loving life!”
Bill and Ellie loved to travel, and in two years they took five cruises, including a Rhine River Cruise, where they spent time in Germany and Paris, which they loved. Bill was able to get more familiar with the German countryside than his Army duties had permitted while he was posted there. His Facebook page shows Bill and Ellie at multiple locations, including tropical beaches, boats, at Rockefeller Center in New York City, and riding in a horse-drawn carriage dressed to the nines.
Bill and Ellie had an ideal life in Reno, NV. Bill was the life of the party whenever they went out. He liked to play cards, and Reno was the perfect place to play 24/7.
On May 26, 2020, tragedy intervened when Bill suffered a blood-based stroke. It triggered a seizure and a second stroke that killed him on July 14, 2020. Bill did not want a funeral but desired to be cremated and his ashes scattered around the “most beautiful places” in Reno. While it was a challenge to do a cremation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ellie was able to meet his wishes.
Bill could always make Ellie laugh, and he is tremendously missed by her, family, friends, and classmates.
Grip hands!
— Your beloved spouse and classmates from I-3 and H-4