MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Who says you can't go home again?
After finishing his three-year Iwakuni tour today, Station Executive Officer Lt. Col. William Grace, who has logged a nearly unheard of 6,000 flight hours as a Marine Corps pilot, is headed back to where it all began - sort of.
The Portland, Ore., native and Texas A & M graduate's next residence will be Pensacola, Fla., where he underwent flight training as a young second lieutenant nearly 20 years ago, and now returns as the new XO for Marine Aviation Training Support Group 21 at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Grace sat down with the Torii Teller recently to talk about Iwakuni, Cobras vs. Hueys, Marines, marriage, fatherhood, sibling rivalry, and a look back at 20 years in the Corps.
What are your feelings as your Iwakuni tour wraps up?
I have mixed emotions about leaving Iwakuni. On the one hand, it feels great to be returning to the place where I first started married life, and where I became a Marine Corps pilot. On the other hand, I will profoundly miss the wonderful and dedicated people here. Iwakuni is truly a special place.
You've logged nearly 6,000 flight hours, a mind-boggling number. When you were growing up did you ever imagine you'd be a Marine Corps pilot?
My father, a World War II veteran and later a fireman, used to take my younger brother and I to air shows at the local National Guard base when we were kids. My younger brother (Lt. Col. James Grace, Head, Military operations, Headquarters Marine Corps) and I would sit in awe watching the jets perform. Both of us were hooked, and very early on I knew I wanted to be a military pilot.
Your brother is also a lieutenant colonel and a pilot in the Marine Corps. Any sibling rivalry there?
First off, he's a Huey pilot and I'm a Cobra pilot, and that right there starts a rivalry of sorts, since all Huey pilots normally develop a sort of inferiority complex to Cobra pilots (laughter). Seriously though, going back to my earliest memories, we were always together. In Pop Warner football I was the quarterback and he was a lineman, in little league I was the pitcher and he was the catcher. We have always been close, and I think it was natural for him to go in the Corps after me. He was probably like, "If my older brother can do it, I can do it." We've been fortunate enough to have been stationed together two different times and even though we both want the best for each other, we still have a heck of a rivalry. It has got heated a couple times, but lucky for me cooler heads always prevailed because he's a pretty big guy. In nearly 20 years of marriage, my wife has developed into being the closest person in my life, but my brother is a close second.
How important has your wife and family been to you in your life and career?
My wife Catherine and I started dating my senior year at Texas A & M, and we never stopped. She has been just a wonderful person to spend my life with and has been 120 percent supportive of me and my Marine Corps career. We have two sons, Rob, 16, and Dave, 13. They have been a joy that I can't even try to relate into words.
As a Marine and as a father and husband, how did the events of Sept. 11 affect you?
I imagine it affected me much the same way it affected everyone else. Of course the anger and outrage were there, but what struck me the most was the pride I felt to be associated with the commanders of the base all the way down to the junior Marines, family members, teachers and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel who all pulled together along with all of America during this trying time. The threat is still out there, and there are many people that hate us. More sacrifices will have to be made, but that's the story of the long legacy of our country and why we have been so successful. We are a great nation because of our sacrifices.
Any words of wisdom before you depart?
You never know what's going on in people's lives. A lot of people are here unaccompanied. Their families are back in the States. Did they just get off the phone after a fight with their wife? Are the kids having problems? Is Mom or Dad sick? There's a million and one things that could be trying to pull their morale down. I really think you win battles on a one-on-one basis. Everybody, whether you're a private or a lieutenant colonel, has an opportunity to have a positive impact on someone's life. It may make a little difference in that person's life, it may make a big difference. You never really know. The only thing you do know is that if you don't put your best foot forward, if you don't have that positive attitude, then you've missed an opportunity and there really is no excuse for it. Don't miss that opportunity.