Submitted by the Westborough Veterans Advisory Board
Westborough – Two local veterans will be honored on Tuesday, Feb. 6 by the Westborough Veterans Advisory Board in a ceremony to be held in the Memorial Hall at Town Hall, 34 W. Main St. Bill Carr will be named 2017 Veteran of the Year and Jim Willwerth will be named 2018 Veteran of the Year. The ceremony will start at 5 p.m.
William F. Carr
Most football coaches don’t know how to build a submarine. Most student athletes don’t get a letter jacket from their alma mater on their 80th birthday. And most legally blind people aren’t earning a master’s degree at the age of 82. Most people are not Bill Carr.
Bill enlisted in the Marines in 1946 from Athol High School and was sent to Parris Island for training. He moved quickly through the ranks and in early 1948 embarked aboard the USS Fremont heading for Vieques Island. After serving in the Caribbean and Atlantic, Bill was honorably discharged in September 1948 as a Sergeant and qualified for the World War II Victory Medal.
After his discharge Bill attended Champlain College and went on to UMass Amherst to earn a degree in forestry. He worked for AT&T purchasing lumber, and Hamilton Standard, which was working with NASA on the Apollo 11 mission, handling logistics. At that point a former CO steered him to General Dynamics where he was schooled in the design and construction of nuclear submarines.
After retirement Bill returned to his love of forestry as a consultant and has continually focused on self-improvement. He works out at the Westboro Tennis & Swim Club and the Boston Sports Club, volunteers at the Westborough Health Care Center and takes graduate courses at Worcester State University, which culminated with master of arts degree in military history. Bill has accomplished all this and published a book titled “A Pact with the Devil” despite being legally blind.
James A. Willwerth
Jim Willwerth attended BC High and Boston College. Early in the 1950s while at BC, Jim signed up for the ROTC program, which specialized in grooming officers for Army field artillery. After his junior year at BC, Jim decided to shift gears and enlist in the United States Marine Corp. “Platoon Leader” program. After six weeks of summer training at Paris Island, S.C. Corporal Jim Willwerth transferred to Quantico, Va. He was then allowed to return to BC and to complete his senior year. After graduation he returned to Quantico and military training, concluding with a promotion to Sergeant. After six weeks of officers’ training at Camp Barrett, Jim achieved the rank of Lt. 2nd grade USMC Reserves.
When the Korean War called, Jim was activated and sent to El Toro Marine Air Station in Calif. El Toro was the permanent home of Marine aviation on the West Coast. There, Lt. Willwerth administered the processing of draftees, before shipping out to Asugi Air Base, Japan. Assigned to the Marine squadron and promoted to 1st Lt., Jim became the Base Motor Transportation officer as well as the legal representative for those under his command.
After over three years of active duty and earning the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, and United Nation Service Medal, First Lieutenant James A. Willwerth was given an Honorable Discharge at South Boston Navy Yard on Feb. 9, 1962.
Jim met Mary Mulvey at a dance and they were married from 1959 to 2015 when she passed away. Jim has two daughters and two granddaughters. After his career with the New England Telephone Company ended with retirement in 1992, Jim became very active in the Westborough community. He has advocated for veterans, ghosted a weekly newspaper column, produced a show on Westborough Cable TV, supported the Senior Center, and been a driving force at the Westborough Country Club.
