Our honorary platoon member is a Marine who many of us in the platoon were honored to serve under. He was one of the most demanding Commanding Officers we would ever have. He was also the Battalion Commander who gave the platoon its Spirit. He made us proud of who we were and what we were doing.
Bill Weise is a native of Philadelphia. He served our Corps on active duty from 1951 to 1982, during which he rose from Private to Brigadier General. He has a BS and MBA degrees. His Marine Corps experience includes combat tours as an infantry Battalion Commander (Vietnam, 1967-8, 2nd Bn, 4th Marines) and mortar section commander (Korea, 1953, Company G, 3rd Bn, 5th Marines). His personal decorations include the Navy Cross (the nation's second highest combat award), Silver Star (the third highest combat award), two awards of the Legion of Merit with combat "V", three awards of the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm. His battalion, the Second Battalion, Fourth Marines, was awarded the Navy Unit Citation for outstanding heroism in 1968. His peacetime assignments included command positions (platoon, company, regiment, force reconnaissance units), plus various staff positions. He taught at the Naval War College, Army Command and Staff College and the Marine Corps Basic School. During his last two years of active duty he was Deputy Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Eastern Recruiting Region, Paris Island, South Carolina.
He lost his childhood sweetheart, wife of 43 years, and friend, the former Ethel Jaeschke, also from Philadelphia, on September 17, 1997. They have three grown children. Carol (mother, homemaker and teacher), Marc (father and orthopedic surgeon), and Holly (mother, homemaker, and program analyst) and nine grandchildren. His oldest grandson, Matthew Olsen, is a Corporal in the Marine Corps Reserve.
He is also very active in church work, various community, and veteran programs. He is a consultant now living in Alexandria, Virginia.
It is indeed an honor to have Brigadier General Weise as our "Honorary Platoon Member".
