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William David Day
No. 21837
Died in Walter Reed General Hospital
Washington, D.C.
Interment:
West Point Cemetery
West Point, NY |
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Captain Wayne David Day passed away on 11 March
1966 at Walter Reed Army Hospital, stricken in the prime of life
by the same fatal illness that had taken both his parents scarcely
five years before. He rests today in a beautiful spot--and in excellent
company--near the Old Cadet Chapel at West Point.
Wayne was born on 3 November 1933 in Lima, Ohio,
and spent all of his pre-cadet years in Muncie, Indiana. As a boy,
he was sensitive and rather shy, by nature introspective, but with
a definite strength of character which cadet life brought into full
focus. He was a well coordinated athlete and, during his school
years, he excelled in basketball, baseball, and softball. He was
always self-demanding and had little tolerance for the man who would
not give his all to accomplish any task at hand.
Prior to entering the Military Academy in 1954,
he attended Purdue University and Ball State Teachers College. Since
he entered in what could have been his junior year in college, adjustment
to the regimented plebe life was not easy, and civilian life appeared
quite tempting. Some deep soul searching overcame his doubts, however,
and West Point must be acknowledged as the catalyst that molded
Wayne's many fine attributes--some of them latent--into the characteristics
of a dedicated professional soldier. His classmates knew him as
a perceptive young man, impatient with inefficiency and wasted effort,
yet one whose quick wit and ready laugh could make him the life
of the party. Although some might well have misunderstood Wayne's
seriousness, his friends knew that it masked a warm, sympathetic
personality.
At graduation, Wayne was commissioned an Armor officer. After completing
the Basic Course at Fort Knox, he was assigned to the 14th Armored
Cavalry Regiment in Europe where he held positions as platoon leader
and S3 Air. When he returned to the States in 1961, Wayne chose
to join the Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg and acquired the
highly specialized skills that led to an assignment in Laos with
a Special Forces Team. He earned the Combat Infantry Badge on this
tour of duty.
From Laos, Wayne returned to Fort Knox for the Armor
Career Course which was followed by another overseas tour, this
time with the 3/64th Armor in Schweinfurt, Germany. Initially, he
was battalion S3, and later he commanded Headquarters Company. One
of my fondest and most poignant memories is the change of command
ceremony incident to my departure from my battalion in September,
1964. I was privileged on that occasion to have Wayne participate
as the Commander of Troops.
In 1965, Wayne was chosen by his Armor Branch to be the American
exchange student at the British Royal Armored Corps School in Bovington,
England. He had just reported to that very choice assignment when
he fell ill.
Wayne met Virginia, the girl who was to be his wife,
during his first tour in Europe, and they were married in Muncie,
Indiana, in August, 1961. Two beautiful children, Julie and Wayne
David, Jr., were born of that union. A true Army wife, Virginia
endured the trials of separation, the many dislocations, and the
temporary homes. She never left his side during his fatal illness.
She now lives with the children in Boston, Massachusetts, and has
assumed the role of the head of the house with a competence that
would have made Wayne extremely proud.
The illness that struck Wayne down was as sudden as it was difficult
to comprehend, but he never gave up. Prior to the operation that
took his life, he asked if we knew what was to come. When we said
we did, he relaxed, assured that all that could be done, would be
done. There were no complaints, ever.
Where he rests today, the vigor and youth of countless young men
in gray will provide a living memorial to those ideals by which
he so earnestly sought to live. His family and his friends miss
him, and there will be a void, never to be filled, but bridged always
by fond memories of an outstanding soldier, an uncommon man, and
a loving husband and father. We are all proud in our sadness that
he could have accomplished so much in such a short time. The "Alma
Mater" says it so well: "Well done, be thou at peace."
Every man is bound to do something before he
dies. If it be that to which he is called, then death is but a sleep.
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