W. L. "Bill" Gulley

Gulley, W. L. "Bill" 11/16/22 - 2/24/12 Former Director of the White House Military Office, W. L. "Bill" Gulley b. Nov. 16th, 1922 d. Feb. 24th, 2012. Mr. Gulley grew up poor on a dirt farm in the "Little Egypt" area of southern Illinois and was raised there during the Great Depression. He joined the Marine Corps in 1939 where he served aboard Naval convoy ships escorting war material to England before the U.S. entered WW Two and then after Pearl Harbor served with the 1st Marine Division in the Pacific where he was wounded on Guadalcanal. He went on to serve in the Korean War where he won the Presidential Unit Citation and later in his military career was deployed with Marine Air Group 14 to the Florida Keys during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1966 he was selected to serve as Chief Administrator in the Military Aides office in the East Wing of the White House and subsequently served Presidents, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter and eventually rose to become the Director of the White House Military Office where he was also Emergency Actions Officer and Presidential Liaison. He had command and control of Air Force One, Marine One, Camp David, the White House Communications Agency and the Military Aides to the President. He was also responsible for the White House Medical Unit, the Special Programs Office, the White House Bomb Shelter, the White House Garage and the White House Staff Mess. Mr. Gulley was officially retired from the Marine Corps in 1968 and at the time of his appointment to head the Military Office was the first civilian ever to hold that position at the White House. He left the White House during the Carter Administration to start an international consulting firm, ISI, in Washington DC with offices in London and Cairo and served as its president. In 1980 Simon & Schuster published his best selling-book, Breaking Cover, about his White House experiences working for four Presidents. Mr. Gulley had a wonderful sense of humor and a profound love for people and life and his friends and colleagues will not soon forget his loyalty, commitment, service and "can do" attitude he brought to all of his endeavors. He truly was an exemplary member of what has been called America's "Greatest Generation" and he leaves behind a proud and loving family. Mr. Gulley died peacefully at his Southern California home and is survived by his loving wife Nancy, three of his four sons, grandchildren and great grandchildren.