William Stephen Nall

Bill Nall was born on March 9, 1924 in Alabama. He grew up in Birmingham, AL, and after graduating from high school attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now part of Auburn University) for one year where he joined ROTC. He filled out his draft card on June 30, 1942. An Army recruiter visited the campus and subsequently the entire ROTC cadre enlisted together on December 2, 1942. Bill was only 18. He married Lucy Turner St. John on August 1, 1943.

An article in The Birmingham News says that after their wedding they were headed to Heidelberg, OH where "he will be sent for further training." This involved attendance at the Army Specialized Training School at Heidelberg College. After the program was discontinued, Bill reports that he signed up for training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin where specialized winter survival skills were taught.

He then found his way into the Signal Company Special as a radio man. He was sent to Camp Forrest in Tennessee where he met Octavio “Joe” Martino, a man who was to become his closest friend during their time in Europe.

A June 1, 1944 article from The Birmingham News says that he was "somewhere overseas," while his wife was living in Atlanta. Their son, Robert Stephen, was born two days later.

Bill remembers that he was attached to the 5^th Rangers during their D-Day landing at Omaha Beach, rejoining the Ghost Army a few days later. His closest colleagues in the unit consisted of Joe Martino, Al Muenchen, and Charles Conrow.

Bill was wounded during the war, and still has the piece of shrapnel they pried out of his head. He was also diagnosed with infectious hepatitis while serving in France. A June, 1945 newspaper article reported that he was convalescing at Welch Convalescent Hospital in Daytona Beach, FL, undergoing a "reconditioning program." His wife and son were living in Birmingham. He was discharged on September 28, 1945.

Following the war, Bill had a career as a dancer in Showboat on Broadway and as a professional water skier. In the latter role he stunt doubled for Esther Williams in some of the scenes in the movie Easy to Love. He and Lucy had two more children: Randolph Edward (“Ed”) and Kathy Diane.

By 1956, the family (along with Bill's father Z.S.) were in Tampa FL. Bill and his father were written up in a newspaper notice for doing business as Utopia Marine in Tampa.

Bill and Lucy were divorced in 1968 in Florida, and in 1969 he married Nancy Lee Boyle. Bill pursued a successful career as a district manager for Paulsen Wire Rope; he reports that during those years he oversaw the installation of cables in NASA rocket support launching towers.

He and Nancy were also active in water and snow skiing, windsurfing, kayaking, hunting, tennis, pickleball, and golf.

Z.S. died in 1974 in Tampa, and, sadly, both of Bill’s sons, Robert and Ed, died in 1984.

Bill and Nancy were living in Panama City, FL in the early 1990s and in Niceville, FL 1995-2000. He is still alive as of this writing (April 2026) and living with Nancy in Dunellon, FL. Bill has three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, and he stays active riding his bike and going to the gym.

In February, 2025, Consul General of France in Miami, Raphaël Trapp, presented Bill with the Legion of Honor, France’s highest recognition. for his role in the liberation of France. At a ceremony held in his home, and in the presence of his family, Mr. Trapp awarded him the Legon of Honor to “mark France’s eternal gratitude and recognition for his exceptional bravery.”

Sources:

1942 draft card

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2238&h=11743120&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Wwc2&_phstart=successSource

1942 enlistment record

https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=929&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=14175837&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=136030

1943 marriage record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61365&h=260976&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Wwc4&_phstart=successSource

1943 article from The Birmingham News

https://www.newspapers.com/image/573520778/?terms=william%2Bs%2Bnall

1944 article from The Birmingham News

https://www.newspapers.com/image/573538333/?terms=william%2Bs%2Bnall

1945 son's Baptismal record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61748&h=34595&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Qol2&_phstart=successSource

1945 article from The Birmingham News

https://www.newspapers.com/image/573029073/?terms=william%2Bs%2Bnall

1956 article from The Tampa Times (we know this is the right person because there is also a Z.S. Nall in the business; those were his father's initials)

https://www.newspapers.com/image/326050261/?terms=william%2Bs%2Bnall

1968 divorce record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8837&h=39100&ssrc=pt&tid=60539017&pid=212179918371&usePUB=true

1969 marriage record

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8784&h=344621&ssrc=pt&tid=60539017&pid=212179918371&usePUB=true

1993 US Public Records Index

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=1788&h=3636957&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Qol17&_phstart=successSource

1998-2000 US Phone and Address Directories

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=7339&h=75462897&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Qol15&_phstart=successSource

2022 (July 14) email from Anita Hadlock (Octavio Martino’s daughter-in-law after interviewing Bill Nall and his wife for this purpose)

2025 press release from the French Consulate in Miami

https://miami.consulfrance.org/william-nall-receives-the-french-legion-of-honor-in-dunnellon

2026 (April 24) interview of Bill Nall by Rick Beyer (as reported on Facebook)

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E7uKWzPcM/