![]() Bill was about 12 years old when he noticed that a man with a Halo 2-meter antenna on his car dropped a share rider off at his apartment complex in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, every weekday afternoon. Curious about the antenna, he waited for the man one day as he dropped off his passenger and asked questions about the mobile antenna. The man’s name was Primo Rico and he was a licensed amateur radio operator. Unfortunately, Bill doesn’t remember his call sign, but later Primo got Bill’s phone number and, with Bill’s parent’s permission, invited Bill to a Tarrytown radio club meeting. At the meeting Bill discovered that Primo oversaw Amateur Radio Civil Defense Communications in their town of Tarrytown, New York. Primo took Bill under his wing and introduced him to the Gonset Communications VHF radio nicknamed the Gooney Bird. Seeing Bill’s fascination with radios, his father bought him the Hallicrafters S-38 E Shortwave Receiver for Christmas and Bill was hooked as a shortwave listener.
Not long after this, Bill noticed a large ground plane antenna on a taxi company office while walking home from school. He stopped to investigate and soon began working there after school doing odd jobs, sweeping floors, and washing taxi cabs and limos. Later they let him operate the radio, a Multi-Elmac Citifone Class D Citizen’s Band radio, call sign 2W4933. Each cab and limo were equipped with the same radio. Citizens Band frequencies were around 27 MHz and were a new band with 23 channels carved out of 11 meters by the FCC. Maximum power was only 5 watts AM. It was new so it really had not caught on to the general public. Most of the users were businesses like cab companies, wrecker companies, local town businesses, and farms. Because the radio range was limited, the use was primarily local. Bill even dispatched cabs with their CB radio during snowstorms when school was closed! During his last year of high school Bill and another student who was a ham built a campus radio station with an AM oscillator that covered the campus. During summer break Bill visited radio stations in the Charlotte area to learn more about commercial broadcasting. Bill transferred to a high school in Charlotte for his junior and senior school years and auditioned for a part-time disc jockey’s position at a daytime only country music station, WKTC AM at 1310 KHz. After auditioning along with several other applicants, Bill was offered the position. It took him about a millisecond to think about and accept the position. Wow, that was a big and exciting day for Bill at age 16! After one year working for WKTC he auditioned as a part-time disc jockey for WRPL AM 1480 kHz a brand-new R&B/Top 40 Day-Timer in Charlotte. He was accepted for the position. During his senior year in high school he later joined WIST AM and FM a 24 hour Top 40 station at 1240 KHz and simulcasted 95.1 MHz, a very popular station especially for teenagers and young adults. During this time as a senior in high school, Bill enlisted in the US Naval Reserve and finally got orders after high school graduation to report to the USS Sandoval APA-194, an amphibious personnel assault ship homeported at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia where he became a striker for radioman. He operated crypto radio teletype on HF and UHF along with SSB radio telephone and Morse code (CW). While in the Mediterranean, Bill had a part in the movie Anzio. While on liberty in Taranto, Bill and several of his shipmates met actor Earl Holliman who had attended radio communications school in California. Holliman told Bill and his shipmates he was co-staring with Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Peter Falk, Arthur Kennedy and Mark Damon among others. Holliman introduced Bill and his shipmates to some of the cast, crew, directors and producers. After more drinks they all wanted Bill and his shipmates to be in their movie since they were filming scenes at the Italian Naval Base in Taranto the next day. The movie was released in late fall of 1968. Bill was discharged from active duty in September of that year. He and his dad saw the movie when it was released in Charlotte, NC. Bill’s boat can be seen in the distance leading the landing boats to shore for the attack along with other scenes on board the Sandoval. After being discharged from active duty on September 6, 1968, he continued in the US Navy Reserve as a Radioman 3rd Class Petty Officer assigned to the US Naval Reserve Training Center in Charlotte for drills. Bill continued his career in the broadcasting field full-time. He also during that time by request of the radio news department would stop by the Charlotte Police Department after his overnight show on his way home and go through the “Police Blotter” to see if there were any newsworthy reports he could record as “news audio actualities” over the phone to the radio station to be used during hourly local radio newscasts. Bill joined the police reserves and spent many hours after work doing “ride-a longs”. Being a reserve officer and hanging around the police department sparked a real interest in Bill making a career change to law enforcement. In 1970 Bill applied to the North Carolina State Board of Alcohol Control as a State ABC Officer and after 6 months had passed he was accepted and assigned to the Undercover Division as an undercover officer. His assignment was buying illicit alcohol from “bootleggers” all over the state. He was promoted 6 months later as a regular State ABC Officer assigned to the Charlotte District. While still in law enforcement he continued working in broadcasting part-time for several stations in Charlotte: WAME AM, WEZC FM, and WSOC AM FM and TV. In 1973 he was offered a full-time radio job as Radio Production Manager for WSOC, the same broadcasting station where he was working part-time. Bill produced radio commercials and promos, filled in as DJ when other DJs went on vacation or on sick-time, did radio news and sports. He also was an on-air personality for a new evening four-hour radio talk show, WSOC Radio’s “Two Way Talk’. Several years later in addition to his other duties at the station, he did radio traffic reports. He started first in a radio news car and later in a Hughes 269 A-1 helicopter. After several months flying, the television side of the station complex asked if he would be willing to take a motion picture camera with him on his flights. Bill discussed the request with station management who agreed it was a great idea. TV news trained Bill on the operation of a small handheld Bell & Howell motion picture camera he would take with him in the chopper. While at WSOC, Bill still maintained a strong interest in amateur radio. Bill’s long time Elmer was Francis Nakamura WB4ETF. Fran was the Assistant Chief Television Engineer at WSOC. He was one of the founders of the Charlotte Amateur Radio Club and Memorial Station named after Charlotte radio broadcasting pioneer Earl Gluck, W4CQ. It was Fran who gave Bill his novice test in 1973 while Bill was still in law enforcement and only working part-time for WSOC. Bill passed his Novice and shortly thereafter received his very first call sign WN4CLP. Bill’s next licensing milestone was passing his General Exam. While on a two-week vacation in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, he made arrangements in advance to take his test at the FCC’s Brunswick Field Office located in Brunswick Georgia. Almost a month later Bill received his General in the mail with the call WA4CLP. Another exciting day as he passed another milestone and celebrated this milestone with his mentor Francis Nakamura. Fran encouraged Bill to continue studying and take the Advanced Class Exam. Bill drove all the way from Charlotte to the Atlanta FCC District Office to take the Advanced. It took several attempts and several years, but Bill received his Advanced ticket and a new call sign, N4MGT, and then he passed his Extra Class Exam and requested a new call sign; the one assigned him was KN4IX. After five years of full-time broadcasting, Bill returned to full-time law enforcement in 1977. He was hired as a State Alcohol Law Enforcement Agent with the newly formed North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, Alcohol Law Enforcement Division. The agency was charged with enforcing the alcohol, drug, gambling and any other laws as directed by the Governor. Bill spent almost 30 years with the division as an Agent, Assistant District Supervisor in Asheville and later in Charlotte, District Supervisor in Winston-Salem, and in 1986, Division Training Coordinator at Division Headquarters in Raleigh. In January 1987,while still serving as Training Coordinator, Bill was nominated by his Director to be a candidate for the FBI National Academy. Bill received a letter from FBI Headquarters inviting him to attend the 149th Session of the FBI National Academy to be held in March of that year. The letter was signed by Judge William D. Webster who at the time was FBI Director in the Reagan Administration. The academy is co-located at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, part of the Quantico Marine Base. In June of 1987, he graduated from the academy and in July was promoted to Deputy Director for Administration and held that position until his retirement on December 1st, 2001. At the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bill was the outgoing President of the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association, and he was scheduled to preside over the annual conference to be held at the Samoset Resort on the Maine coast. Because all flights were grounded, Bill decided to drive to Maine in his unmarked law enforcement vehicle. During the drive he encountered law enforcement friends who were on their way to the Pentagon to assist the FBI with evidence collection. Bill joined them briefly and toured the damaged Pentagon and headed north to his conference. After retiring from the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, Bill worked for the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation a non-profit public interest company. He served as Program Manager for Law Enforcement Technical Assistance, facilitating US DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention block grants designed to reduce underage drinking across the United States and Territories. And that’s how he met Julie KG7LZZ. They were business associates, then friends, and now husband and wife. He retired from the Pacific Institute in 2012 and moved to Montana August 2016. Bill and Julie were married that October. Here in Helena, Bill has been very active in CCARC with a special interest in emergency management. He helped organize the amateur radio emergency drill in connection with Montana Vigilant Guard 2018. He also participates in Field Day, Governor’s Cup, Elkhorn Endurance Run, and the Glacier-Waterton Hamfest. In Bill’s shack he uses his Yaesu FT 2000, with a dipole antenna. His favorite radio activity is being a member of US Army MARS using an Icom FT-8101 E. His mobile rig is a Wouxun Quad Band operating UHF/VHF, 6 meters and 10 meters. His handheld is a dual band Tytera TYT U/V 380 DMR/Analog radio. Bill and Julie have been regulars at Saturday morning coffee, enjoying friends and chatting about all things radio. They also took the lead in organizing club participation in the Governor’s Cup Marathon and Field Day 2018. Photos and text by Bill NC7MT and Julie KG7LZZ. October 2019 Bill died August 30, 2020 |