From a contemporary press report
LONG, WILLIAM MAURICE, Colonel, United States Air Force (Retired)
Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, died at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital on March 24, 2003 at the age of 83.
He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1973 after serving his country for over 33 years as a decorated bomber and fighter pilot, base commander, and as Defense Attache to Turkey.
Colonel Long resided in the Washington, D.C. area for over 40 years, receiving a degree from the University of Maryland in 1962.
The funeral service will be held April 24, 2003 at 1 p.m. in the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer, Virginia, with burial to follow at Arlington National Cemetery.
The family will receive guests after the service at the Long home in Alexandria, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Colonel Long’s name to either the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or United Services Organizations (USO) (www.uso.org).
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard