Upon induction he received six months midshipman course at Columbia University where he
graduated as an Ensign in October, 1943. Following this he was sent to the Pacific Coast
and then assigned to the South Pacific area, where he served at Guadalcanal, Guam and the
Battle of Pelileu. He was with the naval forces off the coast of Japan when that country
capitulated. In the Fall of 1945 he was advanced in rank to Lieutenant (j.g.). He returned
to the United States under orders early in 1946, and was transferred to the Navy
Department, Special Devices Division, Washington, D. C. In early May, 1946, he was
relieved from active duty. |
|
He then returned to Cornell to finish his studies. When the Moran family
moved to California, he bought a Richard Neutra house in the Brentwood section of Los
Angeles. With two associates, Bill started the Moriqui Oil Exploration Company, enjoying
immediate success. During his lifetime, he was the proud owner of four boats. Serena I, a
John Alden schooner, was his first. It was originally known as the Escapade. Serena II, a
motor yacht, followed in the late 70s. Many family parties and weekends were enjoyed
on the Serena III (once the Chula Vista) in the early 1980s and the Serena IV in the
late 1980s. All throughout Bills life, he was a summer visitor to his family
home, Longue Vue, in Whitefield, NH. He belonged to the St. Francis Yacht Club in San
Francisco, CA, the Los Angeles Country Club and the California Club in Los Angeles, and
the Newport Harbor Yacht in Balboa, CA. Bill was a parishioner at the St. Martin of Tours
Church in Brentwood. |
Lifestyle One of Bills greatest attributes
was his uncanny ability to be nice to everyone, tolerant of so many differences. His lust
for life continued to show as he asked every lady to dance at his table, drove nieces and
nephews way out of his way, and was generous to a fault. He could sit through three
cabaret shows, clapping and singing along waiting anxiously for more. All backroads were
worth a trip-however overgrown. Traditions were important. One must always fold the flag
the Navy way and remember to take it down every night. One must have a swim, followed by a
nap in the "bunk" with a novel or the latest issues of Time and Newsweek.
Five oclock was cocktail time, and of course, time for a cigarette. Rigorous Navy
routine made Bill say, I will never rise early in the morning ever again, nor will I ever
have another cup of coffee. We will always miss you. Uncle Willy! |
I must go down to the seas again,
To the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall Ship
And a star to steer her by.
-John Masefield
Spoken at the funeral
by niece Lise G. Moran
|
|