![\"\"](\"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Bill-Army-Corp-Engineers-1943-45.png\")
<\/a>At 101 years old, Bill Spates has vivid memories of his service in World War II\u2014building pontoon bridges under enemy fire and learning leadership lessons from Gen. George Patton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But these days, the Brooklyn native who now lives in St. Johns is better known by a different name: Uncle Bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spates earned that nickname at Field of Dreams, where he’s become a fixture at the youth baseball games, sharing his love of the sport and his remarkable history with a new generation. His daughter, Mary Anne Russell, helps translate his stories, acting as a clear voice for his incredible experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI could drive,\u201d Spates said, recalling how he joined the Army Corps of Engineers in 1943 at age 19. \u201cAll you guys drive a road grader? I could drive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His skill led him on a path from basic training in Texas to England, then across France, Belgium, and finally Germany with the 291st Engineers, Company C. His unit’s mission was critical: constructing and maintaining the bridges that would allow Allied forces to advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building Bridges Under Fire<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Bridge-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Allied soldiers rapidly construct a pontoon bridge across a European river. Spates\u2019s 291st Engineers, Company C, performed this critical, high-pressure work at locations like Remagen to keep troops moving forward.Photo courtesy Bill Spates<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOne of Spates’s most significant assignments came at Remagen, where his unit was tasked with building a pontoon bridge across the Rhine River near a captured German bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had to build a pontoon bridge right across,\u201d Spates recalled. \u201cAnd when all the captured fell down, we had to run out and just hit at the pontoon bridge so they wouldn’t drop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russell explained the harrowing scene: Patton’s army needed to cross, and when the existing bridge collapsed, Spates\u2019s unit had to quickly dismantle their backup pontoon bridge to prevent it from being destroyed by the falling debris, then rapidly reassemble it for the troops to cross into Germany. The entire operation took less than a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBless the day,\u201d Spates said of the swift work. For this action, his unit received a citation for holding their position and completing the critical bridge construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, during the Battle of the Bulge, Spates was one of six soldiers assigned to guard and maintain a strategic bridge, with orders to mine it if necessary to prevent it from falling into German hands. The six were eventually relieved by an entire battalion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Brooklyn to the Front Lines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
He recalled a memorable leadership lesson from Gen. Patton that stuck with him. \u201cHe said you take a piece of spaghetti, okay, you can’t push it, but you can take the pen and pull it,\u201d Spates shared, referring to Patton\u2019s philosophy that you lead troops by pulling them forward, not pushing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Life After War<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Bill-USPS-693x1024.png\")
<\/a>Bill Spates delivers mail as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Spates joined the Postal Service in 1959 and worked there for 27 years after his military service. Photo courtesy Bill Spates<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSpates was on leave in Luxembourg when he heard that the war in Europe had ended. He was slated to ship out to the Pacific theater next, a deployment he was relieved to avoid when President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Japan. \u201cIf Harry had to order a second bomb, we would have been all the way over to Japan,\u201d Spates said, adding simply: \u201cI hate bugs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discharged in December 1945, he was home for Christmas. Spates married his wife, Ann, in August 1948; they were married for 59 years before her passing in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the war, he worked for a company that refurbished printing presses before joining the U.S. Postal Service in 1959. He worked there for 27 years, with his military service counting toward his retirement, giving him 30 years of credited service when he retired in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple raised three children in Poughkeepsie, including son Dick, who served with the Marines in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uncle Bill and Field of Dreams<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/a>One of Spates’s most significant assignments came at Remagen, where his unit was tasked with building a pontoon bridge across the Rhine River near a captured German bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had to build a pontoon bridge right across,\u201d Spates recalled. \u201cAnd when all the captured fell down, we had to run out and just hit at the pontoon bridge so they wouldn’t drop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russell explained the harrowing scene: Patton’s army needed to cross, and when the existing bridge collapsed, Spates\u2019s unit had to quickly dismantle their backup pontoon bridge to prevent it from being destroyed by the falling debris, then rapidly reassemble it for the troops to cross into Germany. The entire operation took less than a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBless the day,\u201d Spates said of the swift work. For this action, his unit received a citation for holding their position and completing the critical bridge construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, during the Battle of the Bulge, Spates was one of six soldiers assigned to guard and maintain a strategic bridge, with orders to mine it if necessary to prevent it from falling into German hands. The six were eventually relieved by an entire battalion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Brooklyn to the Front Lines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
He recalled a memorable leadership lesson from Gen. Patton that stuck with him. \u201cHe said you take a piece of spaghetti, okay, you can’t push it, but you can take the pen and pull it,\u201d Spates shared, referring to Patton\u2019s philosophy that you lead troops by pulling them forward, not pushing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Life After War<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/a>Bill Spates delivers mail as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. Spates joined the Postal Service in 1959 and worked there for 27 years after his military service. Photo courtesy Bill Spates<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSpates was on leave in Luxembourg when he heard that the war in Europe had ended. He was slated to ship out to the Pacific theater next, a deployment he was relieved to avoid when President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Japan. \u201cIf Harry had to order a second bomb, we would have been all the way over to Japan,\u201d Spates said, adding simply: \u201cI hate bugs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discharged in December 1945, he was home for Christmas. Spates married his wife, Ann, in August 1948; they were married for 59 years before her passing in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the war, he worked for a company that refurbished printing presses before joining the U.S. Postal Service in 1959. He worked there for 27 years, with his military service counting toward his retirement, giving him 30 years of credited service when he retired in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple raised three children in Poughkeepsie, including son Dick, who served with the Marines in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uncle Bill and Field of Dreams<\/h3>\n\n\n
<\/a>Spates was on leave in Luxembourg when he heard that the war in Europe had ended. He was slated to ship out to the Pacific theater next, a deployment he was relieved to avoid when President Harry Truman ordered the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Japan. \u201cIf Harry had to order a second bomb, we would have been all the way over to Japan,\u201d Spates said, adding simply: \u201cI hate bugs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discharged in December 1945, he was home for Christmas. Spates married his wife, Ann, in August 1948; they were married for 59 years before her passing in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the war, he worked for a company that refurbished printing presses before joining the U.S. Postal Service in 1959. He worked there for 27 years, with his military service counting toward his retirement, giving him 30 years of credited service when he retired in 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple raised three children in Poughkeepsie, including son Dick, who served with the Marines in Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n