Remembering William W Chase (1925-2010)

Sunday, I was in the San Fernando Valley attending the memorial service of one of my old DEA colleagues. Bill Chase had passed away of kidney failure at the age of 85. When I was a young DEA agent in 1973, Bill and I were working in the same group in Los Angeles. He was an older agent only a few years away from retirement. We became friends and Bill showed me some of his drinking haunts in Chinatown. In 1975, I got married and transferred to Thailand. Bill retired while I was overseas. I don't think I ever saw him again. There was much I didn't know about Bill until I attended his funeral and heard his life story.

When the US entered World War II after Pearl Harbor, Bill lied about his age and joined the military. In 1944, Bill was one of the soldiers who parachuted behind German lines on D-Day. Later, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge and took a bullet in the neck. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge.

After the war, Bill returned home and joined the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which later became the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs then DEA in 1973. I think it is safe to say that Bill was part of the DEA culture in that era when a hard day's work that often went into the evening was followed by agents getting together in a watering hole and blowing off steam. Things have changed a lot since then, but I was part of it too.

At Bill's service, I learned that he had battled alcoholism in his retirement years then joined AA, got sober and helped countless others with the same problem. During the service, an older black gentleman spoke about how Bill served as his AA sponsor and helped him become sober. He told a funny story, which I have to include here; since Bill was a tough old coot, there were times when he wanted to push Bill's buttons, and he knew the two words that worked every time......

Jane Fonda.

It seems that most of my get-togethers with old comrades happens at funerals. Those who survived as long as Bill (thirty years) have fewer ex-colleagues who are still around to attend their funerals. There were five of us DEA guys attending.

Yesterday, the service was accompanied by the bagpipe player- a law enforcement tradition. Today, Bill is being buried in Riverside National Cemetery with appropriate military accompaniment. It is well-deserved.

Rest in peace, Bill Chase.

A great American.