IN MEMORY HONOR ROLL

William J. Borror, or Billy Joe as he was called by family and friends, was born April 28, 1948 in Cumberland, MD. He was raised in Falls Church and then Fairfax, VA, graduating from Fairfax High School in 1967. Billy loved sports and excelled at baseball as a catcher. He started playing the game at the age of 8, eventually playing Babe Ruth, American Legion ball and for Fairfax High School. He also played football for FHS, lettering in both baseball and football 3 of 4 years he attended FHS. He set many school records, some of which still stand. Billy was a very gentle person who also loved animals and children. He adored his nephews and loved the time he spent with them often fishing and swimming country creeks or lakes. He loved to fish the Chesapeake Bay area in the salt waters off the Florida coast. He often booked family fishing trips around his out-of state family visits. While living in an apartment in Vienna, VA., he fed the local squirrels so often, he'd find them sitting just outside the patio door waiting for him. He had them literally eating out of his hand. Billy was drafted in 1969, took basic training at Ft Benning, GA and AIT at Ft Sill, OK. He was sent to Vietnam in Sept 1969, assigned to the i11 BTN, A Btry, 8u1 Field Artillery. Bien Hoa and Cu Chi were 2 of the areas he was in. Upon his return in Sept 1970, it was very evident he wasn't the same gentle young man that he'd been before Vietnam. He was very distant and difficult to get close to. He began to live the nightmares and atrocities he'd witnessed in Vietnam and his quality of life deteriorated. The memories seemed to rattle his very soul and steal his gentleness away, making him very much the loner. He moved from Fairfax, VA to Pine Island, FL, in 1988, where "the climate" suited him better. He would become visibly shaken, often breaking into tears, during news broadcasts of Desert Storm. He said the sound of the guns and bombings tormented him and he couldn't stand the memories it brought back. Drugs and alcohol became his sustenance and Billy's life continued to go further downhill. He drowned June 9, 1993, in 3 foot of water, as the result of a vehicle accident; he was within 1 mile of home. He had just started receiving a veteran's pension for PTSD in March 1993, after 25 years of fighting for it. Our son, brother and uncle is sorely missed, but he and fond memories will be in our hearts and minds forever. The one consolation is that the torment is over and he is finally at peace. Billy was laid to rest June 17, 1993 in Fairfax City cemetery, with military honors.