A Man of Honor: Williamsburg's Bill Brantner Answers Country's Call Three Times

When Bill Brantner left his home in Williamsburg in 1967 bound for Vietnam, the then 17-year-old recent Williamsburg High School graduate had no idea he was taking the first steps toward serving his country in not one, not two, but three wars over the next three decades.

The United States' involvement in the Vietnam War began in 1965, and with an active draft that was calling hundreds of men per day, Brantner knew when he entered the Army that Vietnam was his likely destination, although he took a different route than many in order to get there.

Brantner said before he left for the Army, he paused and looked around his surroundings in Williamsburg, cognizant of the fact that he may never see them again.

"When I left home, I remember standing in the driveway talking to my family, and I was looking at everything thinking I may be looking at it for the last time," he said.

After completing basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., Brantner found himself stationed in Germany.

"I volunteered for Vietnam to get out of Germany because I didn't like Germany," Brantner said. "We had a lot of race riots there at that time and I figured f I'm going to be in a combat zone I may as well go to Vietnam."

During a time when a lot of young men were trying to avoid Vietnam, Brantner said he felt a sense of duty to go.

"I felt obligated to serve in the military to begin with and I felt it was my patriotic duty to go to Vietnam," he said.

Brantner arrived in Vietnam in 1968, arriving during the Tet Offensive, which was a coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities in South Vietnam. The offensive was a public relations victory for South Vietnam as images from the attacks were broadcast on American television, effectively turning public opinion against the war. Brantner said the media coverage of the war provided fuel for the anti-war protesters, and the poor treatment of returning soldiers.

Vietnam veterans returning from war were often not treated with the reverence of soldiers of previous generations. Returning Vietnam soldiers were harassed and assaulted by a portion of the population who blamed them for the war.

"When we came home, they didn't want us wearing our uniforms, they told us to come back in civilian clothes," he said.

Brantner said he was spared the harassment others faced because he returned to a town full of friends.

"That was what was nice about being from a small town," he said. "Nobody ever spit on me or called me names."

As a combat engineer running convoys, Brantner said he saw a lot of action during his tour in Vietnam.

"We hardly ever got hit in a daytime but at night is when they would try to penetrate," he said. "We would get incoming at night."

Brantner said he feels fortunate to come back from Vietnam, and although he escaped without any of the physical or psychological scars that many came home with, he said he wasn't quite the same.

"I think it did change me," he said. "I think you learn to appreciate life more."

Brantner left Vietnam in September 1969, finding himself back in Germany before coming home in 1970.

When Brantner discharged from the Army, he settled down into civilian life, marrying his wife Jen, and having two children, son, Tim, and daughter, Cathy-Jo. But Brantner realized he wasn't ready to leave the military behind him and said he wanted to go back in some capacity. Taking the advice of his Navy veteran brother Richard, Brantner joined the United States Navy Reserves in 1986.

"My brother said I should join the Navy, but I wasn't too crazy about being on a ship," he said. "So, I joined the Seabees, a naval construction battalion."

While with the Navy, Brantner found himself in his second war when Operation Desert Storm began on Jan. 17, 1991.

Brantner was stationed in Japan during the war where he loaded bombs onto planes headed for Iraq.

After Desert Storm, Brantner remained in the Navy Reserve, and in 2004, at the age of 55, once again found himself at war when he was deployed to Iraq.

"I had just started my term as Mayor of Williamsburg when I was deployed to Iraq," he said.

Brantner said there were times he questioned why a man his age would be on the ground in a war zone, and that he did have the option not to go, but said it ultimately came down to sense of duty.

"Like everyone, 9/11 made me angry," he said. "I had to go. I just felt my country needed me and I needed to be there."

Brantner said the people he served with in Iraq, even though most of them were not yet born when he fought his first war, treated him with the respect a man with his service record affords, even if they did playfully remind him from time to time that he was older than them.

"The guys in the battalion called me Pap," he said. "Even the Iraqis would look at me and say, 'Boy, that guy is really old to be over here,'" Brantner chuckled.

Those light moments were rare for Brantner, who said technology may change the way wars are fought, but the one thing it doesn't change is the human lives it takes.

At 72, Brantner said looking back he wouldn't change the course of his life. Although fighting three wars was something he could not have predicted, serving his country in the military and his community in civilian life is something he was born into.

Brantner's father, William "Frank" Brantner, was a Corporal in the United States Army, stationed at Pearl Harbor after the Japanese attack. His brother, Richard Brantner Sr., is a veteran of the United State's Navy and a retired police chief.

"It was how we were brought up," he said. "My dad being a veteran, he had a sense of obligation to our country. I've always felt blessed to not only be born in this country but to serve in the greatest military on earth. And to be able to serve in two branches and three wars, it was such an honor to do that."

Between duties with the Army and Navy, Brantner served a term as Mayor of Williamsburg, and became the road manager for country artist Ricky Lee, who is known for his support of the military. And while health issues in recent years have forced him to slow down a bit, Brantner remains a staunch supporter of the Williamsburg community and its efforts to revitalize the town.

From the time he was 17, Brantner has traveled the world and has seen things most of us will only read about. And although he could have chosen to live anywhere, he said moving away from Williamsburg was never considered.

"When I came back from Vietnam, I knew this is the place I wanted to be," he said. "I want to finish the rest of my life here. I love the Cove area, especially Williamsburg, and I was very fortunate to be able to come back."