By John Montesano
The Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club has named William “Bill” Lake the February Veteran of the Month. Bill was born March 2, 1943 in Aurora. By the time he was age 14, the family had lived in Aurora, and farms in Sandwich and Plano. He had jobs taking care of livestock; pin spotter at a bowling center; owned sheep as a business and did his own auto and home repairs. Along the way, he owned a pony, an Arabian mare, and a Cushman Eagle motor scooter. In 1961, Bill was graduated from Yorkville High School.
He joined the Air Force in October 1961 and went to Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. for basic and AIT training as jet engine mechanic. He was assigned to the SAC Detachment at Travis AFB, Calif. where he worked on the J57 turbojet engine used on the B52 Stratofortress and KC135 Stratotanker. In October 1962, the base was on alert for the Cuban Missile Crisis but was not mobilized.
In 1963-1966, he was stationed in Torrejon Air Base in Madrid, Spain and 1966-1968, he was stationed at Clinton Sherman AFB, Okla.. Bill’s brother, Sgt James Lake was killed in action May 12, 1968 in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. Following his burial, Bill’s mother got Bill an expedited discharge from the Air Force in August 1968 as a sole surviving son. He returned to Aurora and went to work for Western Electric Company in 1968. April 1976, Bill joined the U.S. Army Reserve 85th Committee Group, Aurora.
These are his assignments: In 1979: Master Sgt for the 863rd Engineering Battalion, Headquarters Co, Aurora. In 1988: First Sgt of the 863rd Engineering Battalion, Delta Company, Kankakee. It was followed by Group Maintenance Sgt Major for the 336th Transportation Group, at Ft Sheridan, Ill.. Finally, in 1989-1990, he was appointed a Command Sgt Major (CSM) assigned to the 138th Military Intelligence Battalion in Fort Huachuca, Ariz.. From then until May 2, 2003, Bill was CSM assigned to: 3/501 Aviation Regiment; 863rd Combat Heavy Battalion; 6015th Garrison Support Unit; 633rd Combat Support Group; 646th Area Support Group; and the 416th ENCOM (Engineer Command).
When he was CSM of the 416th ENCOM, he was sent on trips to check on his soldiers that had been deployed. He went to Germany, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Egypt. In December 2002 he was sent to Kuwait (where 4,000 of his soldiers had been mobilized). Because he turned age 60 March 2, 2003, he was automatically discharged by Army regulations. He would have been part of the Iraqi Freedom invasion which began March 23, 2003. He wanted to stay, but decided not to request a waiver and accepted the discharge. He came home to Aurora March 2, 2003.
• 2016-present (in second of three-year term): Appointed an Army Reserve ambassador;
• Military awards: War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Legion Of Merit; three Meritorious Service Medals; Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal.
A summary of his civilian jobs:
• 1968-1989: Western Electric/AT&T/Lucent Industries; several supervisory positions to include Chief Financial Officer of Western Electric Montgomery Works;
• 1989-1999: Lakes Comp-U- Ease; owner and president;
• 1999-2017: Kane County Government; Deputy CIO and Chief of Staff for the IT department.
Bill is married to Lana. Together they have seven children, 16 grandchildren, and two great- grandsons.