Bill Hall – 50th Reunion Essay

Bill Hall

37 East Haycock Point

Branford, CT 06405

wdexhall@gmail.com

203-605-8206

Spouse(s): Judy (1969)

Child(ren): Rebecca (1977), Deborah (1979)

Grandchild(ren): Jack (2015)

Education: Yale BA 1969, UCONN Law

National Service: USW Navy 69-72

Career: Sales, management, Alzheimer’s assistance, business broker

Avocations: refugee immigration, public education, catboats

College: Jonathan Edwards

At Yale, I was one of the uniformed midshipmen, scurrying across campus to the school bus waiting to take us to weekly drill. We carried Springfield rifles, with the firing pins long gone. SDS was demonstrating at the same time. I was trying to exercise some control over my fate with the draft lottery (my number ended up being around 336.) I served my three years of active duty, and was spot promoted to full lieutenant and department head on my amphibious ship during a second tour of duty off Vietnam.

My politics, conservative by upbringing, started changing while I was in the Navy, and continued to move toward the center in my one year of law school. I was elected as a Republican to two terms on the local Board of Education, during which I chaired a school building committee that succeeded in building a new middle school. When George W. Bush invaded Iraq, I left the Republican party, an event that left no seismic trace at all.

My father, Yale ’22, was infected with the racism of that era. I was not, and am not. Our children are adopted from South Korea. I chair a Refugee Welcome Committee locally, which has sponsored families from Iraq and Afghanistan in our community. I was amazed to find myself as one leader of a vigil in support of refugees at the start of the current administration.

I retired as a business broker last autumn. I do volunteer driving of local folks to medical appointments one day per week. I am about to start a term as secular leader of the Congregational church in town.

All this is to say that I am not the person who graduated almost a half century ago—fortunately. My experience at Yale opened my mind to the consideration of different points of view. Graduating from Yale, per se, is something I have neither flaunted nor denied. Rather, my Yale education has enabled me to become a person with whom I am mostly comfortable. My life is blessed with one great love, my wife of almost 50 years, and children and a grandson.

Being a Yalie for me is not a sign of distinction, but rather a constant challenge to justify the extraordinary chance I was given (as many of us may think, probably accidentally, or, at best, experimentally!). I will admit that, on the very few occasions that I indulge in Old Blue and Boola-boola nostalgia, it feels great, but always faintly embarrassing as unearned or, in some way, empty.

I guess, in summary, that if an experience early in life has compelled me to try throughout my life (so far!) to merit it, then that is a good thing. To paraphrase language on the wall of the Great Hall at JE, the not complete failure will be a blessing through all my days.