Lieutenant Commander William “Bill” Joseph Thompson was born on Dec. 13, 1930, in Kansas City, Kansas. Bill graduated from Argentine High School in 1949 and married his high school sweetheart, Donna Rea Hinds, in 1953.

In 1955, Bill earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Kansas and enlisted in the U.S. Navy later that year. In 1956, he attended flight school at Whiting Field in Milton, Florida, where he completed pilot training and received his gold Naval Aviator wings. In 1958, Bill and his young family moved to California, settling first in Imperial Beach while he was stationed at Naval Air Station North Island. The following year, Bill and his family moved into housing at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.

Bill flew the C-1A Trader fixed-wing aircraft and completed t

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