Rochelle Township High School graduate William Gore Nye Sr. served in the United States Navy as a lieutenant junior grade from 1964-1967. He died July 11, 2024 at age 82.

Nye was born July 21, 1941, He graduated from RTHS in 1959 and then attended the University of Wyoming, graduating in 1963 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and a minor in political science.

During the era of the draft, Nye chose to enlist in the U.S. Navy after college to fulfill his service requirement. He completed two tours in the Navy and served in the Navy Reserves from 1967 to 1970, when he was honorably discharged.

During his time in the service, Nye was stationed on the USS Enterprise and was awarded the Vietnam Service Medal with Stars, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device, and the National Defense Service Medal.

“His duty was in codes,” Nye’s brother, Philip Hastings Nye Jr., said. “He studied some mathematics in college. To everyone’s surprise, he was assigned to the admiral’s staff initially in Europe. He worked in codes and classified documents. He did that the entire time of his enlistment with the admiral. It was interesting work.”

During his service, William Nye was a staff officer on the Enterprise for Admiral James L. Holloway III, who later became chief of naval operations. Before Vietnam, he also served in Europe and in the Mediterranean Sea. He was involved in the recovery of a hydrogen bomb from the sea floor after a plane crashed while carrying it.

William Nye made the decision after his normal duty time was up to go back to serve in Vietnam for another tour. Philip Nye remembers his family being upset about that decision.

“He had a chance to get out and chose to go back,” Philip Nye said. “He never talked much about why he chose that. I was glad to get his records later in my life to learn more about it. My family takes a lot of pride in his military honors. He really kept what he did under wraps. He was my younger brother. I was proud of him when he served and I still am.”

When William Nye was assigned to Admiral Holloway in Vietnam, he was flown from Europe to the Philippines and put on a smaller boat to the Enterprise. Crews put rope between the two ships and sent him across in a chair.

“Hearing that story showed me that the admiral really wanted him there,” Philip Nye said. “He was scared he was going to fall into the ocean.”

After serving his country, William Nye attended the University of Colorado School of Law, graduating with a JD degree in 1970. After passing the bar in Utah, he worked for Worsley, Snow and Christensen in Salt Lake City. He continued his career working for the First National Bank in Chicago (from which he was transferred to Phoenix), Continental Bank Trust Company, Valley National Bank of Arizona, and the Maricopa County Public Fiduciary.

For over 40 years, William Nye was a member of Valley Presbyterian Church, where over the years he taught Sunday School, served as a deacon and assisted other members with transportation to worship services and appointments. Bill was married to Margaret Ann Wiese on April 11, 1974. He had four children, Joseph, William Jr., Peter and Scott and he was grandfather to eight grandchildren.

“His service changed his personality,” Philip Nye said. “He was extremely tolerant and a mature adult. His service did him a lot of good. He loved it. The Navy paid for his law school. It set up his career. He was a successful and respected lawyer. He was a man of high character and a great father. Everyone had a lot of affection for him. He had a good sense of humor and was a lot of fun to be around.”

After his time in active duty, William Nye maintained his interest in going to sea through time in the Navy Reserves and a cruise of the Great Lakes for a number of years.

“One of the last things he told me was that part of him wished he would have stayed in the Navy as his career,” Philip Nye said. “He liked the Navy. He said his first love was the sea and ships.”

William Gore Nye Sr. was buried in Oregon with military honors.

“We talked 2-3 times a week in his later years,” Philip Nye said. “I miss hearing how he’s doing and how things were going. I’m glad I still have a good relationship with his sons. I miss him every day.”

Honoring our American Hero is a feature on local veterans that runs twice a month in the Rochelle News-Leader. To submit a veteran or service member for consideration, please email Jeff Helfrich at jhelfrich@shawmedia.com.