Born and raised in New Rochelle in 1915, WWII Veteran William F. Moye, proudly celebrated his 99th Birthday among fellow comrades, family and great friends. The American Legion Post 8 in New Rochelle hosted a luncheon honoring and paying great tribute to the accomplishments that Bill Moye has made over his lifetime of service in the US Army as well as his community in New Rochelle.
Westchester County’s Yolanda Valencia from the Westchester County Board of Legislators respectably and fondly presented Bill Moye with a beautiful Proclamation from the County showing the appreciation for his contributions to his country and neighbors. When you think about how a veteran impacts the world he lives in, you can always reflect back to a popular explanation of what a Veteran actually is. What is a Veteran?… A “Veteran” – Whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to their country for an amount of “up to and including his life”. That is honor. And there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.. Author Unknown. It’s extremely nice to see that here in New Rochelle, we have an abundance of people surrounding Bill Moye that do understand exactly what a Veteran is, and they were out to join him in celebrating his 99th Birthday.
Habitat for Humanity’s Jim Killoran of New Rochelle honored Bill Moye by inviting the group “Fire Drumline” to do a few of their marching band numbers and entertain the guest of honor and all who attended the Legion. Habitat sponsors the band as well as provides incentive to keep kids focused on creating a better life for themselves through music and participating in community events and parades. News12 Westchester also covered the luncheon celebration and have a published segment on the event. Bill Moye was a Bugler as well as a trumpet player (which he played by ear) during his lifetime and played in numerous bands over the years. His love of music, music in the military and life are immeasurable. Fire Drumline did an outstanding job entertaining and paying a great tribute during the celebration.
Born on March 26th at New Rochelle Hospital, Bill attended Huguenot Elementary School, he attended Isaac E. Young. During the 1920’s, Bill Moye was a proud Boy scout and member of Troop 16 and played the bugle with the scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. Bill attended New Rochelle High School, and pursued his love of music taking his talents and enthusiasm to then becoming a member of Charles Dickerson Bugle, Fife & Drum Corps. Upon graduating NRHS in 1932, he took on various jobs in and around New Rochelle and was employed in the Construction and Service industry.
It wasn’t until June 19th 1942, that Bill Moye’s military service began when he was drafted into the United states Army. His WWII service began training with the Quartermaster Corps stateside, After seven weeks of Basic and training as a Buglar, Bill had played in a dance band at USO’s and Officer;s Clubs with the 242 QM Bn, The outfit was later moved, sailing off to to Algeria in 1943 where he spent 4 1/2 months on duty working at Ration Dumps and served as an Interior/ Exterior Guard and played for numerous dance gigs. Next, Bill and his unit were loaded into freight cars for a 4 day trip to Tunis, Tunisia, The 242nd spent a few days on a beach prior to settling down in camp sites temporarily within a continued move up the coast. Their units were assigned to work crews, guard duties, and salvage duties while on their way to Sicily and Rome.
During 1943, Bill had a brother Donald who at the time was enlisted and active duty with the 758th Light Tank Battalion. While he was in Rome, Bill decided to make a surprise visit to see his brother and in doing so, Bill had gone AWOL, since he had exceeded a 50 mile limit when he left his Florence bivouac (a temporary shelter or camp site) by hitching a ride round trip.
Bill continued taking part in several campaigns, Tunisia, Sicily, Rome-Arno, Po Valley, North Apennines, and EAME ( European-American-Middle Eastern). With Good Conduct and a WWII victory, Bill earned his rank as PFC (Private First Class). In October of 1945, Bill’s outfit left Leghorn, Italy on a liberty ship and arrived a t Hampton Roads, VA. entrained for Fort Dix thus completing his 360 degree journey back to New Rochelle. Upon resuming his civilian status, Bill was honorably discharged and immediately became a Veterans’ activist, joining VFW post 2882. He served as a Bugler, and later became Commander of the post from 1969 to 1975. Bill Moye imbedded himself in the military community and in 1979-1980 he was the County Commander in Westchester and also as County Chaplain for several years. Bill Moye became District Chaplain from 1984-1985. He still presides as Chaplain Emeritus for the American Legion Post 8 and the United Veterans Memorial and Patriotic Association of New Rochelle (UVMPA)
William F. Moye is a tremendous example of what it means to be a proud Veteran and patriot.. The Veterans of New Rochelle were undoubtedly proud to host his 99th Birthday celebration at the Post and look forward to countless years ahead with Bill. He is an asset to our community in New Rochelle and deserves all the recognition he gets for his outstanding accomplishments.
An Honorable Human Being
I have been fortunate to have met Bill Moye. He lived in the same building my mother lives, several years ago. Always a respectful gentlemen, who I saluted and shook his hands on every occasion. We have much to learn from veterans like Mr. Moye – they gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live in safe country. Thank you Mr. Moye and all veterans!
Congratulations to Bill Moye
Congratulations to Bill Moye, for his service to his country and community, and a long life well spent.
Judging from the photos here, I would never suspect that Mr Moye is 99. He looks more like 80 or younger. I suspect his mind is equally youthful, despite his age.
We should all be proud of him.