Bill Andrews

Bill Andrews was born in Muskegon, Michigan in 1949. He enlisted in the Navy right out of high school in 1967, and began training in the fall to serve with the Seabees (naval construction battalions), specifically as an electrician. He deployed to Vietnam in June 1968, and was assigned to the Seabee base there without a particular assignment, so he wound up cleaning barracks for a short time before signing up to join the civic action program, which sent small teams of naval personnel into the community to provide assistance to the civilian population. His first job had him working in the program's lumber yard, putting together loads of building materials to be sent out to the teams, but eventually became the program's electrician, which took him out to join the teams at times, and he also assisted with their medical program. He extended his tour by six months, and returned home in December 1970 and received his discharge.