f
Captain William Henry "Bill" Harves, (1917-2014), was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 1, 1917. After graduation from West End High School in 1936 he attended business college at Benjamin Franklin University in Washington, D.C.; before enlisting in the Army in February 1942. He remained an enlisted soldier and retained the rank of Staff Sergeant until completion of Officer Candidate School in March 1943. Bill married Hettie Virginia "Ginger" Nettles (1921 - 2006) in February, 1944, in Monroe, Louisiana, after meeting her upon assignment to Selman Field while on active duty in the Army Air Corps. He joined the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron in April of 1944 at Keesler Field, Biloxie, Mississippi [Map] and prepared for deployment to the South Pacific. He was the only advanced party to deploy ahead of the flight and ground echelons. While with the 2nd ERS he performed duties as the Squadron Tech Supply Officer. He remained with the Second Emergency until after the war and redeployed Stateside in December 1945. During the war, the air bases from which the Squadron operated were regularly bombed and strafed by Japanese aircraft. On one such occasion, Bill's tent suffered a direct hit from an errant bomb and two of his tent mates were killed. Bill was not present at the time, however, because a General had appeated earlier in the day and demanded that a plane take him to Hollandia for preparations for the liberation of the Philippines. Bill had chosen to accompany the General in order to ensure that the plane came back.

Read Bill's story about this mission and how it saved his life!

For 32 years, Mr. Harves was associated with the Supply Service, Department of Medicine and Surgery, of what is now the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), serving in the Washington, DC, central office from 1946 until his retirement in 1979 as the Chief of the Supply Management Division.  The Supply Service provides all of the VA hospitals and facilities around the country with everything from medicines to technical equipment such as CT, dialysis, X-ray, and MRI machines. During his tenure at the VA, Mr. Harves helped plan and implement the electronic automation of the Supply Service, supporting 3 depots, 172 hospitals, and 72 regional offices.  At the time of his retirement, he was not only awarded a Distinguished Career citation and medal, but was also recognized for having had the longest-established car pool at the VA, which he ran continuously for his entire length of service.

Mr. Harves was the last surviving adult member of the founding families of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia.  Ten families first met at the Walter Reed Elementary School in the Westover section of Arlington in 1947.  The cornerstone of the church building was laid in 1948.  At St. Michael's, he was a trustee, vestryman, licensed lay-reader, coordinator of the (X-tra Years of Zest) club, ran the Meals-on-Wheels program with his wife for 25 years, and sang in the adult choir.

William H. "Bill" Harves, a career Federal government employee with the Veterans Administration and founding member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia, passed away March 28, 2014, of natural causes at Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads, Falls Church, Virginia, at the age of 96 years. While at Goodwin House, Mr. Harves directed the Computer Club and sang in the senior Encore Chorale, which performed at the Kennedy Center.  This continued his life-long interest in singing which started at St. Michael's.  His senior singing was highlighted in an article in U. S. News & World Report in February, 2008, on the effects of mental exercise for the aging brain and the beneficial effects of singing on senior longevity.  Also at Goodwin House, he greeted people for the Marketing Committee and drafted a family manual for use by the 24-Hour Skilled Nursing Care operation. His wife of 62 years predeceased him in 2006.  He is survived by their two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Back to "Roster"...
1

1